A STUDY 
OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

mmmmmmBtmmmmmmmmmmm 

ROLLIN H. WALKER 



Book.j4l2_^ 

Copyright 

COFXRlGm DEPOSfT. 



A STUDY 
OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

BY THE 
QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD 

A HANDBOOK FOR BIBLE CLASSES 
AND FOR PRIVATE STUDY 



By 

ROLLIN H. WALKER 




THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 
NEW YORK CINCINNATI 



Copyright, 1919, by 
ROLLIN H. WALKER 



JAN -3 1320 



The Bible text used in this volume is taken from the American 
Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thomas 
Nelson & Sons, and is used by permission. 



©CI.A561368 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Preface 7 

INTRODUCTION 

How TO Study a Lesson 15 

On Memorizing the Material 15 

Exposing Scripture Ideas to Different Classes of 

Facts 16 

The Use of the Questions 18 

The Notebook 23 

QUESTIONNAIRE 

Outline of John's Gospel 29 

Literary Peculiarities of the Gospel 30 

Chapter 1 35 

The Prologue. 1. 1-18 35 

John and the Pharisees. 1. 19-28 36 

The First Disciples. 1. 29-51 36 

Chapter II 39 

The Miracle in Cana of Galilee. 2. 1-11 39 

The Cleansing of the Temple. 2. 12-25 40 

Chapter III 42 

The Interview with Nicodemus. 3. 1-21 42 

The Final Witness of John. 3. 22-36 44 

Chapter IV 46 

The Interview with the Samaritan Woman. 

4. 1-42 46 

The Healing of the Nobleman's Son. 4. 43-54. 48 

Chapter V 50 

The Healing of the Impotent Man. 5. 1-9 ... 50 
3 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

PAGE 



The Jews Aroused Over Jesus's Attitude To- 
ward the Sabbath. 5. 10-18 50 

Jesus the Source of Life and Authority. 5. 19-47 51 

Chapter VI 54 

The Feeding of the Five Thousand. 6. 1-15 ... 55 

Jesus Walking on the Water. 6. 16-21 56 

The Discourse on the Bread of Life. 6. 22-65 . . 57 

TheXonfession of Peter. 6. 66-71 58 

Chapter VII 59 

Jesus Exhorted to Seek Notoriety. 7. 1-13 .... 59 

Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles. 7. 14-52. . . 61 

Chapter VIII 62 

The Sinful Woman. 8. 1-11 62 

Jesus's Teachings at Feast of Tabernacles (con- 
tinued) 8. 12-59 63 

Chapter IX 65 

The Blind Man. 9.1-41 65 

Chapter X 68 

The Good Shepherd. 10. 1-21 68 

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication. 10. 22-42. . . 69 

Chapter XI 72 

The Raising of Lazarus. 11. 1-57 73 

Chapter XII 75 

The Anointing at Bethany. 12. 1-11 75 

The Triumphal Entry. 12. 12-19 76 

The Visit of the Greeks. 12. 20-36a 76 

Reasons for Israel's Rejection of Jesus. 12. 

36b-43 77 

A Resume of Our Lord's Public Teaching. 12. 

44-50 78 

Chapter XIII 79 

The Feet- Washing. 13. 1-20 80 

The Pointing Out of the Traitor. 13. 21-38 . . 80 
4 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 



Chapter XIV 83 

Jesus and the Father. . 14. 1-14 84 

Jesus Foretells the Coming of the Spirit. 14. 

15-24 84 

Previous Words of Comfort Reiterated in Dif- 
ferent Form. 14. 25-31 85 

Chapter XV 86 

The Vine and the Branches. 15. 1-27 87 

Chapter XVI 89 

The Coming Conflict and the Coming Comforter. 

16. 1-33 89 

Chapter XVII 92 

The Intercessory Prayer. 17. 1-26 92 

Chapter XVIII 95 

The Arrest and Denial. 18. 1-27 96 

The Trial Before Pilate. 18. 28-40 97 

Chapter XIX 98 

The Trial Before Pilate (continued). 19. 1-16. 98 

The Crucifixion and Burial. 19. 17-42 99 

Chapter XX 101 

The Empty Tomb. 20. 1-10 101 

The Appearance to Mary Magdalene. 20. 11-18 102 
The First Appearance to the Apostles in the 

Upper Room. 20. 19-23 102 

The Appearance to Thomas. 20. 24-31 104 

Chapter XXI 106 

Jesus Appears to the Disciples by the Sea of 

Galilee. 21. 1-14 108 

Simon Peter's Commission. 21. 15-25 109 

Search Questions on Chapters I-XII 110 

Search Questions on Chapters XIII-XXI. ... 115 
5 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

PAGE 

The Differences Between John and the Sy- 
noptics 119 

The Profound Inner Harmony Between John 

AND THE Synoptics 124 

I. The Johannine and the Synoptic Conception 
of the Method of Christ's Self-Revelation. . . 124 
II. The Johannine and the Synoptic Conception 

of the Person and Authority of Christ 128 

III. The Johannine and the Synoptic Conception 

of the Chief Good for Man and for Society. . 131 

APPENDIX 

Questions on the Problem of Authorship and 
Date 137 



6 



PREFACE 

The purpose of this list of questions is 
to assist the student to make a first-hand 
study of the problems of interpretation in 
John's Gospel. The writer believes that 
much harm is done to students of the 
Bible by the constant attempt to impose 
upon them ready-made opinions from a 
textbook. Many teachers have a pro- 
found skepticism concerning the ability of 
the nontechnical scholar to come to an 
intelligent independent judgment with re- 
gard to the meaning of so difficult a book 
as John's Gospel. But the writer's ex- 
perience in teaching the Bible by the 
method herein outlined has served in- 
creasingly to convince him not only that 
students delight to be thrown upon their 
own resources, but that they can be 
trusted, in general, to show a large amount 
of insight and judgment in their conclu- 
sions. It is hoped that, after the student 
has completed the present course in John's 
Gospel, he shall have acquired a mental 
habit which will enable him independently 

7 



A STUDY OP JOHN'S GOSPEL 



to face the problems of other books of the 
Bible, not, of course, without the use of 
commentaries and introductions, but with- 
out making them a substitute for first- 
hand consideration of the questions in- 
volved and for independent personal judg- 
ments concerning them. 

After the conclusion of the exegetical 
studies the writer has arranged a series of 
questions designed to assist the student in 
making such an examination of the fourth 
Gospel as will enable him to judge for 
himself whether, in spite of the startling 
divergencies, in style, method, and mate- 
rial between John and the other three, 
they are not profoundly and essentially 
one in their conception of Jesus and of his 
relation to God and to the world, and 
whether or not the developments and en- 
largements upon the primitive traditions 
which John has undoubtedly made are 
only such as would inevitably come from a 
deep consideration of the words of Jesus as 
originally uttered, just as the flower in- 
evitably comes out of the bulb. The 
writer believes that the fourth Gospel, 
even in those parts of it where the evan- 
8 



PREFACE 



gelist, in the freedom of the Spirit, has 
dared to make the boldest reconstructions 
in form, is as profoundly in harmony with 
the mind of Christ as are the most primi- 
tive sources, and that a stenographic re- 
port of the words of Jesus would have 
been less the message of Christ to the 
later generation to which John wrote, with 
its new problems and its new intellectual 
atmosphere, than his inspired translation 
of the thought of Jesus into new forms. 

This question as to whether the Gospel 
of John is a true representation of the 
mind of Christ, the writer of this book 
deems to be the central critical problem of 
the fourth Gospel, and it is the one on 
which he has the profoundest convictions. 
To this one of the critical problems, ac- 
cordingly, he desires the chief attention 
of the student to be directed. 

The other problem as to the precise 
literary history of the document which we 
call John's Gospel is a fascinating, but 
elusive question upon which there is abun- 
dant room for difference of opinion among 
those who are most certain as to the au- 
thority of the Gospel as a true exponent 
9 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



of the mind of Christ. The student is re- 
ferred, in the appendix, to some of the 
evidence on this subject, and to some of 
the critical discussions on both sides, and 
is left to come to his own conclusions. 

The reader will be somewhat surprised 
that, beyond a few questions concerning 
the outline and the literary peculiarities of 
John's Gospel, and an occasional pointing 
out of the diflSculty of harmonizing its 
material with that found in the other 
Gospels, all introductory questions are re- 
served for the end of the course. This 
proceeding arises out of the method of 
leaving the student to discover all things 
for himself, which is the controlling idea 
of the questionnaire. And, of course, no 
student is prepared for a safe judgment on 
the most important critical questions aris- 
ing out of John's Gospel until he is fairly 
saturated with the text of the book, and 
until he has allowed it an opportunity to 
make that unique impression upon his 
mind which comes after a *'time exposure." 

The writer of this questionnaire desires 
to acknowledge his indebtedness to his 
brilliant young student, the late Paul 
10 



PREFACE 

Jordan, M.A., for a number of questions 
embodied in the book, and also to Dr. 
Louis F. W. Lesemann and Dr. H. F. 
Rail for helpful criticisms. 



11 



INTRODUCTION 



INTRODUCTION 



HOW TO STUDY A LESSON 
On Memorizing the Material 

The first task is always to make oneself 
familiar with the Scripture material. By 
this we mean, not merely to read it over 
several times, but so to get it in mind that 
one can successfully study it without hav- 
ing the book open before him. Probably 
nine tenths of the study of all really suc- 
cessful Bible students is done without the 
aid of the open Bible. 

When the Scripture is mastered in this 
fashion, and some outline or other scheme 
for holding it in memory has been devised, 
then the real test of the student begins. 
Will he, like all who are truly successful 
in Bible study, have faith enough in the 
inspiration of the Scriptures to keep going 
over arid over the passage in hand, even 
though he seems to be getting no new re- 
sults? Will he revert to it in his snatches 
of leisure, just as a woman takes up her 
15 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



knitting or fancywork the moment her 
hands are idle? Or will he turn aside to 
other subjects? 

That product of spiritual chemistry 
which we call insight is never produced at 
low temperatures. It appears only when 
the imagination has been kindled and a 
healthy glow of emotion has been aroused. 
But this glow of emotion is always the 
product of dull hours when the mind is 
held down like a vise to the dogged repe- 
tition of the material. 

Exposing Scripture Ideas to Different 
Classes of Facts 

This repetition of the material should be 
made in the presence of whatever Provi- 
dence presents to one's attention. A man, 
for instance, would do well to repeat to 
himself the passage he is studying just be- 
fore he reads the morning paper. The 
telegrams announcing the deeds of God in 
all parts of the world often act on the 
Scripture truth like a glass of water on a 
dry effervescent powder, causing it to foam 
up with surprising freshness of application 
to modern conditions. The Scripture 
16 



INTRODUCTION 



should also be repeated as one sits down 
to read his Shakespeare or Browning, or 
any other classic. The analogies which 
present themselves between the ancient 
oracles and these modern prophets won- 
derfully thrill and invigorate the mind. 

Above all, the Scriptures should be gone 
over in the presence of the practical diffi- 
culties of life. It is here that their deepest 
meaning emerges. Trouble and stress are 
the chemical bath that develops the photo- 
graphic plate of the word of God. 

Jesus said that "every scribe who hath 
been made a disciple to the kingdom of 
heaven is like unto a man that is a house- 
holder, who bringeth forth out of his treas- 
ure things new and old" (Matt. 13. 52). 
The new experiences give fresh meaning to 
the old Scripture; the old Scripture inter- 
prets the new experiences. This habit of 
keeping some scriptural idea persistently 
in mind as one is confronted by the chang- 
ing scenes of existence, is that which ac- 
counts for the surprising freshness and 
so-called originality of certain writers on 
religion. They are not men who seek for 
originality, but, rather, men who have 
17 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



suflScient mental concentration to hold to 
a scriptural principle long enough to allow 
a large number of fresh analogies and ap- 
plications to crystallize around it. There 
is no limit to the rewarding suggestiveness 
of this repeated going over of the Scripture 
in the presence of the largest possible 
variety of human experiences. 

The Use of the Questions 

Ji the student has mastered the material, 
most of the questions in the booklet will 
appear simple enough, and their answers 
will seem quite obvious. Others will not 
be so simple, and must be gnawed at 
rather patiently. After a careful, inde- 
pendent study of a given point, the com- 
mentaries should be consulted. It is always 
best to use more than one, lest the student 
be tempted to follow one scholar slavishly. 
It is highly important in this work to "call 
no man rabbi." If the student uses one of 
the large critical commentaries, he should 
be careful to decide what he is looking for 
before he consults it, so that he will not be 
lost in the technical maze of its discussions. 
Anyone of fair education can soon learn to 
18 



INTRODUCTION 



handle a great critical commentary if he 
only observes this rule of going to it for 
the answer to definite questions. The 
commentaries are not made to be read, 
but to be consulted like a dictionary. 

It is also a good thing to present a prob- 
lem of interpretation to sympathetic, clear- 
headed friends, even though they have lit- 
tle of the learning of the schools. The 
Bible was not written by technical scholars, 
but by practical, everyday men, and the 
simple common sense of such people to-day 
often cuts the Gordian knot of a diflBculty. 
Lincoln was in the habit of making every 
man he met contribute to the solution of 
the problem that was on his mind. The 
successful Bible student, after the same 
manner, can often make his friends help 
him to the understanding of Scripture. 
Putting a question in such form as will 
prevent its seeming sanctimonious and un- 
real in common conversation, will in itself 
be a good discipline. Half the battle is 
the simple and clear statement of the 
problem. 

As the student answers the questions 
proposed in this book, other questions of 
19 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



his own will emerge. These by all means 
should be put down, and if possible an- 
swered, but at all events put down. The 
existence in the mind of definitely phrased 
questions is a distinct asset. It is like a 
baited hook which one has ready to cast 
into all the streams of experience. 

Although the questions in this guide 
have been tried out on hundreds of stu- 
dents, and have been foimd workable, 
nevertheless the clear putting of an exe- 
getical question is so difficult that the 
author will doubtless sometimes fail to 
make himself intelligible to all readers. In 
that case they should not spend too much 
time in puzzKng out the meaning of the 
question. Let them rather puzzle out the 
meaning of the verse. Let them make the 
book of questions their servant, and not 
their master. The one vital matter is to 
learn John's Gospel. 

It will be noticed that in connection 
with practically every chapter of the Gos- 
pel there are two classes of questions. At 
the beginning of the chapter there are 
placed a number of search questions. This 
is to encourage the repeated and alert 
20 



INTRODUCTION 



re-reading of the chapter as a whole. 
Then, after the search questions, are added 
a number of exegetical questions on par- 
ticular verses, intended to clear up diffi- 
culties of interpretation. 

In putting these questions we have fol- 
lowed the custom of frequently placing 
before the student several alternative in- 
terpretations. It very often happens that 
these alternative interpretations are not mu- 
tually exclusive, and that the true answer 
will be, not in choosing one of the alterna- 
tives, but in deciding that there is a measure 
of truth in each of them. 

The exegetical questions in this book are 
all upon the basis of the American Standard 
Edition of the Revised Bible (Thomas Nel- 
son & Sons, New York). The use of a 
translation of the Gospel into modern ver- 
nacular is highly recommended as a mental 
stimulus. It is indeed the most con- 
venient form of commentary. Among 
such translations are: The Twentieth Cen- 
tury New Testament, $1.25 (Fleming H. 
Revell Company, New York); Weymouth, 
The New Testament in Modern Speech, 
with notes, cloth, $2 (The Pilgrim Press, 

21 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

Boston) ; MoflPatt, The New Testament, A 
New Translation, $1 (Doran, New York). 
The Twentieth Century New Testament 
on John's Gospel is suppHed separately in 
paper covers. A paraphrase, like Profes- 
sor Riggs's Messages of Jesus according to 
John, $1.40 (Charles Scribner's Sons, New 
York), is also a very convenient and usable 
type of commentary. It goes without the 
saying that one or more first-class modern 
commentaries are highly desirable. The 
greatest is that of Godet, Commentary on 
Saint John's Gospel (in three volumes, 
T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh; and m two vol- 
imies. New York, Funk & Wagnalls). 
This is characterized by the profoundest 
spiritual insight, but is somewhat tech- 
nical and difficult for the average reader 
to use. Next to this comes Westcott, In- 
troduction, Commentary, and Critical 
Notes, $3 (New York, Charles Scribner's 
Sons). A student equipped with either of 
these commentaries, and with the great 
homiletical exposition of Marcus Dods in 
the Expositor's Bible (New York, George 
H. Doran Company), ought to be able to 
do excellent work. For the average reader 

22 



INTRODUCTION 

who would be slightly appalled by Godet 
or Westeott, possibly the most practicable 
outfit is the inexpensive paraphrase of 
Riggs referred to above, together with the 
New Century Bible, by John J. A. McCly- 
mont (New York, Oxford Press). If the 
somewhat small type of the latter is an 
objection, the Cambridge Bible, by Alfred 
Plummer (New York, G. P. Putnam's 
Sons), and the Westminster New Testa- 
ment, by Clark (New York, Fleming H. 
Revell Company), will be found easier for 
the eyes, and they are also good. For 
reference to the literature on questions of 
introduction, see the appendix. 

The Notebook 

Every student should keep a notebook. 
This notebook should contain: 

1. The various section headings of the 
Gospel, as given in the book of questions, 
as for instance. 

The Prologue. 1. 1-18. 
These headings should be made to stand 
out prominently on the page. 

2. The answers to the questions. These 
answers should be complete sentences, so 

23 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



phrased as to be intelligible to one who has 
not read the question and is not familiar with 
the text of the Scripture. As, for instance, 
when the question on the Prologue reads: 

Where does John emphasize the inex- 
haustible nature of Christ's grace? 

The answer in the notebook should be: 
John emphasizes the inexhaustible nature 
of Christ's grace in the verse, ''Of his full- 
ness we all received, and grace for grace." 

3. Any original questions which have 
been propounded by the student. 

4. Any spontaneous comments the stu- 
dent is moved to make. The impulse to 
write should be obeyed promptly, or the 
thought will evaporate. There is no ob- 
jection to comments of a devotional or 
homiletical nature, if only they are never 
made a substitute for a scholarly attention 
to questions of interpretation. 

5. Any analogies to other literature that 
suggest themselves to the mind, both while 
the student is studying the lesson and af- 
terward in the course of subsequent read- 
ing. For convenience in filing afterthoughts 
in the notebook, the loose-leaf arrangement 
is perhaps the best. 

24 



INTRODUCTION 



It might be thought from the above in- 
structions that the writer of this booklet 
expected the student to do nothing else 
but study the Scriptures. This is far from 
the case. He is recommending no ultra 
pietistic proceeding whatever. He is sim- 
ply urging that which Moses is said to 
have enjoined upon Joshua, a busy gen- 
eral, at the beginning of a strenuous 
military campaign, when of all other men 
he would have least opportunity for medi- 
tation. ^^This book of the law shall not 
depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt 
meditate thereon day and night, that thou 
mayest observe to do according to all that 
is written therein: for then thou shalt 
make thy way prosperous, and then thou 
shalt have good success" (Josh. 1. 8). 

This principle of unifying all life around 
some great central conceptions which one 
is studying is what is required of all men 
who succeed in any line of investigation. 
It is what one might call the conservation 
of one's intellectual opportunities, the 
utilization of his providential experiences, 
and it is a thoroughly practicable plan. 



25 




QUESTIONNAIRE 



OUTLINE OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



1. If you were to divide the Gospel into 
two general divisions, the one including 
the public ministry of Jesus, and entitled 
"The Manifestation of Christ's Glory 
through his Life and Ministry/' and the 
other including all that John tells us of 
the happenings at the Last Supper in the 
upper room, the trial, crucifixion, and 
resurrection, and entitled ''The Manifes- 
tation of Christ's Glory in Suffering and 
Death," where would the division between 
the two sections of the Gospel come? 
Find the answer before consulting a com- 
mentary. 

2. If you were to divide the first section 
into two parts, as Marcus Dods does, 

(1) Christ's Announcement of Himself and 
the Beginning of Faith and Unbelief; 

(2) The Period of Conflict, where would 
these two divisions begin and end? You 
can find the answer to this question by 
noting the first sign of murderous oppo- 
sition. 

3. If you were to divide the second of 

29 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



the two main divisions of the Gospel into 
three sections: (1) Christ and the Inner 
Circle the Night Before the Passion; 
(2) The Arrest, Trial, and Crucifixion of 
Jesus; (3) The Risen Christ Appears to 
His Disciples, where would the divisions 
begin and end? 

The outline which a man uses for hold- 
ing the Gospel in the mind should be the 
one which is most natural to him, and the 
student is encouraged to make his own 
outline, or to use any other scheme which 
he finds in the commentaries that happens 
to be most serviceable to him for this 
purpose. 

The Literary Peculiarities of the 
Gospel* 

Chapters l-I^ 

Read Chapters 1-4, and find illustra- 
tions of the following peculiarities of 
John's literary style: 

1. His habit of noting the date, hour of 

* (Note) The lessons on the literary peculiarities of the Gospel, 
while a pleasant and rewarding task in the preparation, are difficult 
to make interesting in the recitation and hence may be passed over 
by the teacher, or the class hour occupied by a lecture. 

30 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



the day, place, and other circumstances of 
an incident which he relates. 

2. His habit of recording, not only the 
appreciative, but all the puzzled, confused, 
and incredulous answers of those to whom 
Jesus spoke. 

Chapters 5-8 

In Chapters 5-8 John's peculiarities of 
treatment appear with unusual vividness. 
When you discover recurrences of the char- 
acteristics that you noted in Chapters 1-4, 
connect them in your mind with the ex- 
amples that have gone before, and thus 
make the study of the present section a 
review of the previous one. 

1. What illustrations do we find in Chap- 
ters 5-8 of John's way of noting the time 
and place of an action, and certain numer- 
ical details connected therewith? 

2. It is the method of John to give us a 
miracle of Jesus, and then a great revela- 
tion of truth expressed in a figure of speech 
founded on that miracle. Find illustra- 
tions of this habit in Chapters 5-8. 

3. Where in Chapters 5-8 is the oppo- 
sition and hate of Jesus's enemies most 

31 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



dramatically exhibited? Can you think 
of any practical purpose that the insertion 
of the mockery of the enemies of Jesus 
serves? 

4. It is one of the literary characteris- 
tics of John's Gospel that it is full of verbal 
contradictions. Where do you find one in 
Chapters 5-8? 

5. What other characteristics of the 
Gospel force themselves upon you as you 
study these chapters? 

Chapters 9-12 

As before, note instances of — 

1. John's habit of giving us the time, 
place, etc., of an incident. 

2. His habit of giving the reaction of the 
hearers of Jesus. 

3. John's literary style is remarkably 
free from relative, conditional, and quali- 
fying clauses. It is just a series of short 
sentences usually connected by "and." 
Where have we in Chapters 9-12 a dis- 
course in which this quality is conspic- 
uously illustrated? 

4. Some tell us that the portrait of Jesus 
in John's Gospel is dehumanized in order 

32 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



to emphasize his divinity. Strangely 
enough, however, at times John's Gospel 
brings out the human sensitiveness of 
Jesus more pronouncedly than any of the 
other records. Where, for instance, in 
Chapters 9-12 is his deep and storm- 
tossed emotion portrayed.^ Where also is 
his shrinking from the cross revealed .^^ 

5. John constantly makes use of the law 
of contrast, in adding to the impressive- 
ness of his account. Notice as you read 
these chapters a very vivid instance of 
contrast in the feeling exhibited toward 
Jesus by two persons, both of whom were 
supposed to be his intimate friends. 

Chapters 13-21 

1. Note again John's habit of stating 
time, place, and circumstances of an event. 

2. Note also his usual method of incor- 
porating the questions and responses of 
those to whom Jesus spoke. 

3. It is the habit of John often to see in 
the literal fact a suggestion of spiritual 
meaning. Read these chapters to see if 
you can find illustrations of this habit. 

4. It has been said that the discourses in 

33 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



John's Gospel have a kind of spiral move- 
ment. Instead of stating one point, and 
then leaving it, and going on to the next, 
the thought returns again and again to 
some great central conception in a kind of 
ascending circle. What chapters in 13-21 
best illustrate this peculiarity? 

5. John always keeps his story human 
and interesting by preserving the dramatic 
interplay of question and answer; but on 
the other hand, he, in a sense, detaches 
his story from its local Jewish setting, and 
puts it in a form that is more easily applic- 
able to all men under all circumstances. 
Read Chapters 13-21 to note how little of 
the story requires an explanation of local 
Jewish conditions and customs in order to 
make it intelligible. 



34 



CHAPTER I 



The Prologue. 1. 1-18 

1. The memorizing of the Prologue is 
especially to be recommended as a prepara- 
tion for the answering of the following 
questions. 

2. Compare this introduction to John's 
Gospel with the beginning of Matthew 
(1. 1-16), and the preface to Luke (1. 1-4). 

3. Where and how in the Prologue does 
John seek to impress us with the deity of 
Christ.^ By what words does he seek to 
bring out his humanity .^^ 

4. In what words does John express the 
ideas of the preexistence of Christ, his 
power as Creator, and his power as 
Saviour? 

5. Where is Christ's function as the re- 
vealer of truth expressed? 

6. Where is the absolutely unique Son- 
ship of Christ brought out? 

7. Where does John emphasize the in- 
exhaustible nature of Christ's grace? 

8. In what words does John seek to 
teach that those who come under the 

35 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



power of Christ are so completely trans- 
formed that the work can only be assigned 
to the direct act of God? 

John and the Pharisees. 1. 19-28 

9. What characteristic of John the Bap- 
tist is most marked in his interview with 
the Pharisees? 

The First Disciples. 1. 29-51 

10. What evidence have we in this para- 
graph that John the Baptist saw in Jesus 
far more than a mere earthly conqueror? 
Had he in that portion of the Scripture 
with which he seems to be especially fa- 
miliar (Isa. 40-66) some suggestion toward 
this spiritual conception of the Messiah? 
See Isa. 53. 

11. What characteristic of Jesus is mani- 
fested in his meeting with his earliest dis- 
ciples? It was his ability to do what? 

12. What was it that made Nathanael 
believe in Christ? 

13. Note the difficulty that arises when 
we compare this story with the account of 
the call of Peter and Andrew in the synop- 
tic Gospels (Mark 1. 16-20). The student 

36 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

is warned against a nervous attempt to 
defend the chronology of a writer who 
handled his material with the freedom of 
spirit that characterizes John's Gospel, and 
is also reminded that the other evangelists 
are constantly taking similar liberty. See, 
for instance, the story of Jesus's visit to 
the synagogue at Nazareth, which Luke 
puts (4. 16-30) at the very beginning of 
our Lord's ministry, whereas Matthew and 
Mark place it much later (Matt. 13. 54-58; 
Mark 6. 1-6). Is the difference, however, 
in the time of the call of the early disciples 
an absolutely clear case of discrepancy.^ 
Could it not have been that the call re- 
corded in Matthew and Mark was a call 
to leave their business, and give Jesus 
their exclusive time and attention, while 
this meeting in John is a record of how 
they first became Jesus's adherents and 
loyal supporters? 

14. The disciples are here represented as 
starting out with the assumption that Jesus 
was the Christ. Contrast this early dec- 
laration of Jesus as the Messiah with the 
synoptic account of the confession, ''Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the Living God," 
37 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



which Peter uttered in the latter part of 
Christ's ministry (Matt. 16. 13-20). This 
apparent divergence between John and the 
synoptics as to the time in the ministry 
when the disciples first acknowledged the 
Messiahship of Jesus is often given as an 
evidence of the unhistorical character of 
the fourth Gospel. Could it have been 
that the disciples at first, echoing the sur- 
mises of the multitude about Jesus, used 
the word "Messiah" in the popular, carnal 
sense, while Peter in his later confession 
bravely held to his original faith in Jesus's 
Messiahship, in spite of the fact that the 
Master disappointed all his carnal hopes 
Was it this spiritual resoluteness and loy- 
alty, as over against the common opinion 
to which all the scholars of his day had 
come, that so greatly pleased Jesus 



38 



CHAPTER 11 



The Miracle in Cana of Galilee. 
2. 1-11 

1. Read a number of times to determine, 
if possible, the principal point John wishes 
to impress upon us in recounting the inci- 
dent of the marriage at Cana. Especially 
what characteristic of Jesus does it illus- 
trate.'^ 

2. Does it seem likely that the wine 
failed because the family generously en- 
larged the number of their guests by 
inviting Jesus and his disciples, and others 
who were curious to see the wonderful 
young Rabbi .^^ 

3. Vs. 3-5. (a) What did Mary desire 
Jesus to do.^ (6) What was there about 
this request that elicited the shade of re- 
proof in his answer? (c) His hour was not 
yet come to do what? {d) Did he change 
his mind and decide to work the miracle, 
or did he feel that by working the miracle 
imostentatiously (as it were, in the kitchen) 
he might delay the proclamation of himself 
as Messiah until the right time? Compare 

39 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



a similar desire for privacy in his wonder- 
working in Luke 5. 14; 8. 56. 

4. V. 10. ''When men have drunk 
freely." Bluntly, what did he mean? 

5. The new disciples would be struck at 
this wedding with what contrast between 
Jesus and their former teacher, John the 
Baptist.?^ (Matt. 11. 16-19.) 

6. V. 11. "His disciples believed on 
him." How do you account for the fact 
that the record has already said that they 
had believed.^ See Chapter 1. 

The Cleansing of the Temple. 
2. 12-25 

7. In the first three Gospels the cleansing 
of the temple is placed at the close of 
Jesus's ministry. John puts it here at the 
beginning. At which time do you think it 
probably occurred.^ or might it have oc- 
curred twice? 

8. Was this traffic in the temple illegal, 
or was Jesus's resentment due to the fact 
that it had become degraded into ex- 
tortion? 

9. It was a fixed principle of Jesus not 
to use force in an attempt to change men's 

40 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



attitudes and opinions, but here we see 
him using force. Is this really a departure 
from his principle? Is he trying to con- 
vert the temple keepers to a new way of 
looking at duty, or is he simply enforcing 
a standard of religious decency which they 
already inwardly knew to be correct? 

10. Was it Jesus's personality that com- 
pelled obedience, or did the reference to 
prophecy arouse the consciences of these 
traders? 

11. The story of the cleansing of the 
temple adds what lines to the evangelist's 
picture of the character of Jesus? 

12. V. 24. Why did not Jesus trust him- 
self to the multitudes at Jerusalem? Was 
he afraid of treachery on their part, or 
afraid that without understanding his true 
mission and purpose they would proclaim 
him as a military Messiah? 

13. Do you notice any vivid contrast in 
Chapter 2? 



41 



CHAPTER III 



The Interview with Nicodemus 
3. 1-21 

1. V. 1. What have you to say, in 
general, of the class to which Nicodemus 
belonged (Matt. 23; Luke 18. 9-14), and 
of their conception of the nature of the 
kingdom of heaven? (Luke 17. 20-21.) 

2. Vs. 2-15. Does the narrative of the 
interview with Nicodemus indicate that he 
was a sincere inquirer.^ Compare 7. 50-51, 
and 19. 39. 

3 V. 2. Did Nicodemus say "we" from 
modesty, or because he was stating the 
consensus of opinion in the group of 
serious-minded Pharisees to which he be- 
longed.^ 

4. V. 3. Nicodemus came to talk with 
Jesus about ''reconstruction." He be- 
longed to a class that expected the world 
to be conquered for the Messiah by sword 
and by stunning miracles. What in Jesus's 
program both for himself and his disciples 
would it be wholly impossible for Nicode- 
mus to appreciate without a complete 

42 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



change of his pomt of view? The answer 
is suggested in verse 14. 

5. V. 5. ''Except one be born of water." 
Do you think Nicodemus had or had not 
been baptized by the Baptist.^ Does Jesus 
refer to baptism in general, or to John's 
baptism? Does he mean to suggest that 
the rite of baptism is necessary to salva- 
tion, or that open confession and a humble 
admission of a need of the prayers and help 
of good men, is necessary to salvation? 

6. V. 8. 'The wind bloweth where it 
will." The wind is invisible and mysterious 
in its origin. What, then, do we know 
about it that is also true of the Spirit? 

7. V. 12. "How shall ye beheve if I tell 
you heavenly things?" The first verse of 
the Prologue, where the evangelist says, 
"In the beginning was the Word," is an 
illustration of the heavenly things to which 
reference is here made. They cannot be 
proven by direct observation, but are 
logical inferences which are made under 
the impulse of the faith that comes from 
experience of the transforming power of 
Christ. The new birth, however, is here 
called an earthly thing. In view of the 

43 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



fact that it is a spiritual event, why is it 
called earthly? 

8. Vs. 16-21. Do you think that these 
verses are added reflections of Saint John 
which he could not repress, or are they a 
part of Jesus's message to Nicodemus? If 
one were to conclude that they were in- 
evitable reflections upon the word of Jesus 
which any sincere disciple would, in time, 
be compelled to make, would they be any 
less the real message of Christ than the 
precise words that he uttered.'^ 

The Final Witness of John. 3. 22-36 

9. V. 25. "There arose therefore a ques- 
tioning on the part of John's disciples with 
a Jew about purifying." What, according 
to the commentaries, was the point at 
issue 

10. V. 26. What effect did these dis- 
putants expect their announcement of 
Jesus's great success to have upon John.^ 
What startling surprise did John give them.^ 

11. V. 29. "The friend of the bride- 
groom, that standeth and heareth him, 
rejoiceth greatly," etc. To what Oriental 
marriage custom is reference here made.^ 

44 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

12. V. 30. "He must increase, but I 
must decrease." John was right in his 
conviction that Christ must increase. In 
what respect was he right, and in what 
respect was he wrong in his conviction 
that he must decrease.^ 



45 



CHAPTER IV 



The Interview with the Samaritan 
Woman. 4. 1-42 

1. Vs. 1-5. Why should the fact that 
the Pharisees had heard of Jesus's success 
make him depart from Judaea.^ 

2. Reread Chapter 3 to note the con- 
trasts and the similarities between the two 
interviews. Write down the substance of 
your findings. 

3. V. 5. "He Cometh to a city of Sa- 
maria, called Sychar.'' Locate on the map. 

4. V. 6. "It was about the sixth hour." 
At what o'clock according to our reckon- 
ing? 

5. V. 7. What is known of the Samari- 
tans and their worship.^ 2 Kings 17. 7-33. 

6. V. 14. "A well of water springing up 
unto eternal life." Where in this chapter, 
by using a different figure of speech, does 
Jesus say that he himself has that well of 
water springing up within him? 

7. V. 16. "Go, call thy husband, and 
come hither." What was the purpose of 
this injunction of Jesus? Was it out of 

46 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



regard to the proprieties of the occasion, 
or was it designed to call the woman's 
attention to the chief impediment which 
was keeping her back from the divine gift, 
namely, her improper social relations? 

8. V. 19. "Sir, I perceive that thou art 
a prophet/' In what previous instances 
does this Gospel show that Jesus's insight 
into human personality led to faith in 
him? 

9. V. 20. "Our fathers worshiped in this 
mountain," etc. Was the bringing up of 
this question of the proper place for wor- 
ship an attempt on the part of the woman 
to turn the conversation away from an un- 
pleasant subject, or was it the expression 
of what was to her a central question in 
religion? 

10. V. 23. Is the meaning that the true 
worshiper shall worship the Father in the 
spirit and in sincerity? or in the spirit 
and with a true notion of his nature and 
his requirements? 

11. V. 26. "I that speak unto thee am 
he." Jesus was afraid to announce him- 
self to the Jews as Messiah because the 
word "Messiah" suggested to them a mili- 

47 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



tary revolutionist who would place himself 
at their head, drive out their conquerors, 
and set up a Jewish state. Can you see 
from the woman's words any reason why 
he did not have this fear with regard to 
her? 

The Healing of the Nobleman's Son 
4. 43-54 

12. V. 45. "So when he came into 
Galilee, the Galilseans received him, hav- 
ing seen all the things that he did in Jeru- 
salem at the feast." The Galilaeans based 
their faith in Jesus on his miracles. On 
what had the Samaritans based their faith .f^ 
Which type of reception was more pleasing 
to Jesus? 

13. V. 48ff. How do you explain the 
fact that after Jesus had said, ''Except ye 
see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise 
believe," this nobleman exhibited a very 
unusual faith? Was Jesus's word intended 
as a kind of dramatic foil to the faith 
which he knew the man would exhibit as a 
reaction from his words, or is there any 
other explanation that you can suggest? 
Would the faith of the nobleman have 

48 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

been screwed up to the stieking-point with- 
out Jesus's rebuke? On what did the 
nobleman base his faith in Jesus? 

14. V. 54. "This is again the second 
sign that Jesus did, having come out of 
Judsea into Galilee." What was the first 
sign? 



49 



CHAPTER V 



The Healing of the Impotent Man 
5. 1-9 

1. Vs. 1-7. What was it in the cir- 
cumstances of the man that laid such hold 
on the compassion of Jesus that he felt 
moved of the Spirit to heal him.^^ 

2. V. 4. What justification have the re- 
visers in removing from the text the pas- 
sage about the angel troubling the waters .^^ 

The Jews Aroused Over Jesus's Atti- 
tude Toward the Sabbath. 5. 10-18 

3. V. 13. "Jesus had conveyed himself 
away, a multitude being in the place." 
What might have been the consequences 
to Jesus's program of giving himself chiefly 
to teaching if he had worked his miracles 
in such manner as to attract the curious 
crowds around him.^ 

4. What is there about the way in which 
Jesus worked this miracle that resembles 
the manner in which he wrought the mir- 
acle at the wedding in Cana.^ 

5. The story of the healing of the man 

50 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



at the pool of Bethesda, and the reaction 
which the deed brought out from the Jew- 
ish leaders, emphasizes what vivid con- 
trast between the spirit of Jesus and the 
spirit of the leaders? 

6. The first break which this Gospel de- 
scribes between Jesus and the Jews arises 
over the Sabbath question. Read from the 
beginning of Ma.rk's Gospel until you find 
the first account of hostility against Jesus, 
and note whether it arises from a similar 
cause. 

7. What, according to the account given 
by John, had Jesus previously done to 
arouse the anger of the rulers, which they 
did not, however, dare to make an issue 
before the common people.^ 

Jesus the Source of Life and 
Authority. 5. 19-47 

8. What verbal contradictions do you 
find in these verses.^ 

9. What ideas of the Prologue are here 
restated? » 

10. Where, in this section, is there an 
analogy to Jesus's promise to Nathanael 
that he should see greater things than these? 

51 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



11. Jesus here claims power to raise the 
spiritually dead, and power to raise the 
physically dead. In which verse does he 
make the first claim In which the 
second? 

12. Jesus in this section enumerates va- 
rious witnesses which God has given to 
substantiate his claims. Search through 
the section to find what these witnesses 
are. 

13. Where is it asserted that the pun- 
ishment for not receiving the true mes- 
senger of God is to be deceived into 
receiving a false messenger.^ 

14. Where does Jesus state that it is 
impossible for a man to be really loyal to 
Moses and the Old Testament Scriptures 
without yielding at the same time to 
Christ's message and authority.^ 

15. Where does Jesus state that a man's 
habitual attitude toward God determines 
whether he will take the right attitude 
toward Christ? 

16. Does all of this discourse in its 
present form seem natural as the utter- 
ance of Jesus before the multitudes in 
Jerusalem, or is it likely that it contains 

52 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



comments by the evangelist that develop 
the thought for the needs of a later gen- 
eration? Would it have been natural for 
Jesus to phrase himself in precisely this 
form at this early stage of his ministry? 



53 



CHAPTER VI 



1. Jesus has already been quoted as 
saying that a prophet has no honor in his 
own country (4. 44). Where have we an 
illustration of this principle in Chapter 6? 

2. We have illustrated in this chapter 
the fact that miracles never really satisfy 
the mind, nor give any permanent basis 
for faith, but, rather, produce an itching 
desire for more miracles. Find the place. 

3. Jesus wishes the multitude to realize 
that he thoroughly understands their atti- 
tude toward him, and is not at all deceived 
as to the reception which his words are 
likely to have. Where does he make this 
evident? 

4. It would be natural for the people to 
infer that their attitude toward Jesus was 
simply a matter of individual like and dis- 
like, and had nothing to do with their 
general attitude toward God. Where, on 
the contrary, does Jesus insist that a man's 
attitude toward him is a true gauge of his 
attitude toward the Father? 

5. Where have we indications of the fact 

54 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



that this incident of the feeding of the five 
thousand and the following discourse was 
a most decisive event in the life of Jesus, 
and meant both the culmination of his 
popularity and the turn of the tide against 
him? 

6. Where does Jesus show that the inci- 
dents of the chapter have turned his mind 
strongly toward his approaching sufferings? 

7. The Jews put their faith in the good 
time that would come from a change of 
government and an ideal prosperity. Jesus, 
on the contrary, looks deeper, and says 
that men first need an inspiration and a 
dynamic that will make heroes of them, 
and transform their whole attitude toward 
life. From what, according to this chap- 
ter, is this dynamic to come? 

The Feeding of the Five Thousand. 
6. 1-15 

8. Vs. 1-14. What three particulars not 
mentioned in the Synoptics are given in 
this narrative of the miracle? (Matt. 14. 
13-23; Mark 6. 30-46; Luke 9. 10-17.) 

9. V. 4. ''Now the passover, the feast 
of the Jews, was at hand." Does Chapter 

65 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



5 suggest any reason why Jesus did not 
go up to this feast? 

10. V. 12. "Gather up the broken pieces 
which remain over, that nothing be lost." 
Why did Jesus give this command.^ 

11. V. 14. "This is of a truth the prophet 
that cometh into the world." Who, in 
this Gospel, had said, "Sir, I perceive that 
thou art a prophet" .^^ Compare the 
grounds on which, in the two cases, the 
faith had been based. 

12. V. 15. "They were about to come 
and take him by force, to make him king," 
etc. What had just happened that would 
make Jesus particularly desirous of taking 
a hand in righting the political conditions 
in Palestine, and hence would render this 
a severe temptation to him.^ (Matt. 14. 
1-12.) "He withdrew again into the 
mountain himself alone." For what pur- 
pose? See Mark 6. 45-46. 

Jesus Walking on the Water. 6. 16-21 

13. V. 19. "About five and twenty or 
thirty furlongs." Compare with Mark 6. 
47; Matt. 14. 24; where it says that they 
were in the middle of the sea. Do these 

56 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



statements agree with one another, and 
with the actual dimensions of the sea? 

The Discourse on the Bread of Life. 
6. 22-65 

14. Vs. 25, 26. "Ye seek me, not be- 
cause ye saw signs, but because ye ate of 
the loaves, and were filled." What pre- 
vious instances have we had in this Gospel 
where Jesus did not answer the spoken 
question, but was ready to supply the 
deeper, unexpressed need of the ques- 
tioner? 

15. V. 34. "They said therefore unto 
him. Lord, evermore give us this bread." 
This mistaken request of the multitude 
makes you think of what similar request 
in a previous interview recorded in this 
Gospel? 

16. V. 44. Jesus's teachings are always 
for the purpose of helping his hearers. 
How would it help this crowd to be told, 
"No man can come to me, except the 
Father that sent me draw him"? It would 
throw them back on the primary problem 
of first being loyal and sincere toward 
whom? 

57 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



17. V. 53. What does Jesus mean by 
eating the flesh and drinking the blood of 
the Son of man? Partaking of the Eucha- 
rist, or Hving on the inspiration of Christ's 
example and getting courage and healing 
from his vicarious sufferings .^^ 

18. V. 64. "Jesus knew from the be- 
ginning . . . who it was that should be- 
tray him." Before he chose him, or as 
soon as the traitorous disposition mani- 
fested itself.^ 

The Confession of Peter. 6. 66-71 

19. After the discourse on the Bread of 
Life there was a parting of the ways 
among the disciples. Many were unwilling 
to follow Jesus if it meant the surrender 
of certain immediate hopes. What were 
these hopes? 

20. Compare this confession of Peter, 
which stood out against the common opin- 
ion of those with whom he was surrounded, 
with Peter's confession in the Synoptics. 
Matt. 16. 13-17. 



58 



CHAPTER VII 



1. Where have we in this chapter a 
statement of the same tenor as Jesus's 
words, "If therefore thine eye be single, 
thy whole body shall be full of light"? 

2. What figures of speech in this chapter 
strongly remind you of previous sayings of 
Jesus in this Gospel? 

3. Where in this chapter have we illus- 
tration of the fact that insistence on the 
letter of Scripture often keeps men from 
seeing the truth? 

4. What evidence is there in this chapter 
that the rulers and the Pharisees had been 
unwilling to make any careful investigation 
either of Jesus's words or his deeds? 

Jesus Exhorted to seek Notoriety. 
7. 1-13 

5. V. 2. What can you say of the feast 
of tabernacles? (Lev. 23. 33-36.) 

6. V. 3. "Go into Judaea, that thy dis- 
ciples also may behold thy works which 
thou doest." What disciples? The twelve, 
or the Judseans who, by reason of his pre- 

59 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



vious miracles and words, had become fav- 
orably disposed toward him? 

7. V. 6. "My time is not yet come/' 
Time to do what? Compare previous oc- 
cm^rences of a similar expression in this 
Gospel. See also V. 30. What fact in 
the Jewish attitude toward Jesus made it 
important for him to choose his time and 
manner of public manifestation as care- 
fully as a general chooses the time and 
ground for a battle? 

8. Vs. 10-13. Why, in your opinion, did 
Jesus approach Jerusalem so secretly, and 
then go into the temple and teach so 
openly? The answer to the question con- 
cerning Jesus's reason for his secret ap- 
proach is seen in an analysis of the mo- 
tives and desires of his brethren in asking 
him to go up with them. Compare 2. 23-25. 
In considering the apparent inconsistency 
of Jesus in going into the temple after his 
secret approach, and making such august 
public claims for himself, ask yourseK this 
question: Were these great proclamations 
of a character tending to arouse the multi- 
tude to revolutionary enthusiasm for him 
as a king, and hence tending to bring on 

60 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



the hostility of the Roman government? 
Or were they, on the other hand, of a 
character to dampen the ardor of the un- 
spiritual crowd? 

9. V. 11. ''The Jews therefore sought 
him at the feast." With hostile or friendly 
intent? 

Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles. 
7. 14-53 

10. V. 17. "If any man willeth to do 
his will, he shall know of the teaching." 
Where in the sixth chapter did Jesus sug- 
gest that before discussing his claims or 
his teaching the primary duty was to be 
loyal to the God whom they professed to 
serve? 

11. V. 21. "Jesus answered, and said 
unto them, I did one work, and ye all 
marvel because thereof." What work? 
(See 5. 8-10.) 

12. Vs. 37-38. Was there any Jewish 
custom at the feast that may have called 
forth the words, "If any man thirst, let 
him come unto me and drink"? See 
commentaries. 



61 



CHAPTER VIII 



The Sinful Woman. 8. 1-11 

1. On what evidence is the paragraph 
7. 53 to 8. 11 regarded as an interpolation? 
Does the opinion that it is not an original 
part of John's Gospel carry with it the 
necessary inference that it is not his- 
torical? 

2. What was the purpose of Jesus in this 
interview? To settle the method of pro- 
cedure with such offenders, or to discomfit 
a group of brazen hypocrites and inspire a 
bad woman to a better life? 

3. V. 5. "What then sayest thou of 
her?" Did the Jews expect Jesus to say, 
"Stone her," and thus put himself in op- 
position to the Roman law and authority? 
Or did they expect him to say, "Release 
her," and thus array himself against the 
sentence imposed by the Jewish law? 

4. V. 6. Why did Jesus write on the 
ground? 

5. V. 11. "Neither do I condemn thee." 
In what sense is the word "condemn" 
used? 

62 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



Jesus's Teachings at the Feast of 
Tabernacles (Continued). 8. 12-59 

6. Where in this chapter does Jesus sug- 
gest that no man at the beginning of his 
discipleship adequately understands his 
teaching, but that comprehension comes 
by persistent attempts practically to apply 
it? 

7. In connection with the interview with 
Nicodemus we read, "As Moses lifted up 
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must 
the Son of man be lifted up; that whoso- 
ever believeth may in him have eternal 
life." Where in this chapter also do we 
find a suggestion of the necessity of the 
suffering of Christ in order to produce 
faith.^^ 

8. Where in the section does Jesus sug- 
gest that the inability of his hearers to 
imderstand him springs, not from mental 
lacks, but from inner and rooted hostil- 
ity to his ideals and spirit.^ 

9. Where does Jesus, without baldly 
stating it, suggest that he has still much 
truth to reveal to the people which he 
cannot utter because of their hardness of 
heart.^ 

63 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



10. Where have we a verbal contradic- 
tion of the promise, "Seek and ye shall 
find"? 

11. Horace said that his words would be 
more imperishable than brass. Where in 
this chapter does Jesus make a still greater 
claim about his words? 

12. V. 15. "Ye judge after the flesh; I 
judge no man." Does Jesus mean that he 
decides upon the fate of no man, or does 
he mean that his only attitude toward any 
man is expressed in the attempt to save 
and help him? In the long run, however, 
what is the effect of a skillful and sympa- 
thetic attempt to save a man? 

13. V. 19. "If ye knew me, ye would 
know my Father also." Where in this 
chapter does Jesus utter the complemen- 
tary truth that if a man were in right 
relation to God, he would know and ac- 
cept the Christ? 

14. V. 20. "And no man took him; 
because his hour was not yet come." 
Compare the previous occurrences of this 
expression. Does it mean the same thing 
here as, for instance, in John 2. 4, or does 
it here mean the hour of his death? 

64 



CHAPTER IX 



The Blind Man. 9. 1-41 

1. What popular Jewish conception as 
to the cause of suffering and disease is 
revealed by this chapter? 

2. V. 3. ''But that the works of God 
should be made manifest in him." Does 
Jesus mean to say that God ordained that 
the man should be born blind in order 
that he might work this miracle, or does 
he here simply illustrate his practical at- 
titude toward the perplexities of life, and 
say, We now determine to make this man's 
suffering result in the glory of God? 

3. V. 4. What in the attitude of the 
Jeyvs, as shown in the previous chapter, 
may have suggested the figure of the ap- 
proaching night? 

4. V. 6. ''He spat on the ground, and 
made clay of the spittle," etc. In what 
previous miracles had Jesus begun by as- 
suming that the wholly inadequate means 
which were at hand, supplemented by the 
power of God, would be sufficient to ac- 
complish his purpose? 

65 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



5. V. 6. Did Jesus anoint the man's 
eyes with clay as a curative agency, or 
was this contact of the hand of Jesus the 
stimulus to faith, and a way of impelling 
the man to an act which would express 
his faith and make it operative? 

6. V. 7. "And said unto him, Go, wash 
in the pool of Siloam." This pool, by the 
prophet Isaiah (8. 5-8), was taken as a 
symbol of the imseen supply of the spirit 
of Jehovah. John says the Hebrew word 
"Siloam" means "sent," in order that the 
reader may associate it with whom? Com- 
pare V. 4, "We must work the works of 
him that sent me." 

7. What previous instances have we had 
where Jesus required those for whom he 
worked miracles to perform simple acts as 
an expression of their faith? 

8. V. 14. "Now it was the sabbath on 
the day when Jesus made the clay," etc. 
Where previously have we had a Sabbath 
miracle that caused offense? 

9. V. 22. "He should be put out of the 
synagogue." Was this equivalent to ex- 
pulsion from church membership, or did it 
also carry with it a kind of boycott, 

66 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



like expulsion from a modern trade 
union? 

10. V. 28. "We are disciples of Moses." 
Where had Jesus previously said that all 
who were in harmony with the spirit of 
Moses would come to him.^^ 

11. V. 39. "And Jesus said, For judg- 
ment came I into this world." Compare 
3. 18, and contrast 3. 17 and 8. 15. How 
do you explain the contradiction between 
the statement in 3. 17 that God sent not 
his Son into the world to judge (or sen- 
tence) the world, and this statement that 
he came to judge 

12. Jesus said, "Blessed are they that 
have been persecuted for righteousness' 
sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 
What illustration do we find in this chap- 
ter of the blessings that may come to a 
man as the result of his courageous atti- 
tude toward his persecutors.^ 

13. What were the progressive steps by 
which the man's faith developed.^ (This is 
the important question.) 



67 



CHAPTER X 



The Good Shepherd. 10. 1-21 

1. Note that the parable is immediately 
related to the previous incident (9. 1-41), 
and cannot be interpreted save in the light 
of that incident. 

2. Read the parable in order to notice 
any advanced revelation concerning the 
Good Shepherd, beyond that which is 
found in the twenty-third psalm. 

3. Where in this section does Jesus 
prophesy the conversion of the Gentiles, 
and the final unity of mankind .^^ 

4. V. 1. "He that entereth not by the 
door into the fold of the sheep," etc. Is 
he referring to the man who enters into 
the church without true repentance and 
grace, or to the man who gets himself ap- 
pointed to leadership over the people of 
God when his motives are selfish and his 
methods are bad.^ 

5. Vs. 4, 5. "The sheep follow him: for 
they know his voice. And a stranger will 
they not follow." Where have we in this 
Gospel previous reference to the inner gravi- 

68 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



tation of the good toward the Good 
Shepherd? 

6. V. 8. "All that came before me are 
thieves and robbers." Came before me as 
religious teachers, or as persons arrogating 
lordship over the human conscience, and 
professing to be mediators between God 
and man? To what class of religious 
leaders, whose malign influence over the 
people is illustrated in Chapters 7, 8, does 
Jesus plainly refer? 

7. Vs. 14, 15. If you have an Author- 
ized Version at hand, compare it with the 
Revised Version, to note how the Revised 
Version brings out the connection between 
the two verses, and thus greatly illuminates 
the meaning. 

8. V. 18. "This commandment received 
I from my Father." What commandment? 
What previous indications have we in this 
Gospel of Christ's clear premonition of his 
coming sufferings, and of his deliberate 
purpose to lay down his life for the sins of 
the world? 

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication 
10. 22-42 

9. V. 23. "It was winter; and Jesus was 

69 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



walking in the temple in Solomon's porch." 
What physical reason for Jesus's walking 
is here suggested? 

10. V. 24. "If thou art the Christ, tell 
us plainly." Why did not Jesus call him- 
self the Christ before the Jewish multi- 
tudes.^ Was it because the term "Mes- 
siah" in their minds meant too much, or 
too little.^ 

11. V. 25. "Jesus answered them, I told 
you, and ye believe not." Jesus had never 
told the Jews, in so many words, that he 
was the Messiah. Where, in effect, how- 
ever, had he told them? 

12. V. 26. "But ye believe not, because 
ye are not of my sheep." What in the 
inner temper and attitude of these men 
made them dislike Jesus? 

13. V. 28. "They shall never perish, and 
no one shall snatch them out of my hand." 
This might mean one of two things — 
either that the members of the true flock 
could not by any chance lose their place 
in the flock, or that as long as they chose 
to be loyal no malign power could snatch 
them away. Which alternative do you 
take? 

70 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

14. V. 35. In what sense could the com- 
ing of the word of God to a man make 
him a god.^ 

15. V. 38. "But if I do them, though ye 
beheve not me, beUeve the works.'' What 
distinction does Jesus here make between 
faith in him and faith in his works. ^ If 
a man beUeved in him, rather than in his 
miracles, what evidence would be the basis 
of his faith.r^ Which of the two kinds of 
evidence would be the more solid founda- 
tion for belief? 



71 



CHAPTER XI 



1. Where in this chapter is the prin- 
ciple laid down that if a man is doing his 
duty, and doing it promptly, there is noth- 
ing to fear? 

2. What illustration do we have in this 
chapter of the fact that it is often the set 
of the will, quite as much as the character 
of the evidence, that determines whether 
or not men believe? 

3. What evidence of the physical courage 
of the apostolic band does this lesson 
present? 

4. Where in this chapter are military 
necessity and patriotism made the excuse 
for a great crime? 

5. Critics call in question the historical 
character of this incident on the ground 
that it is incredible that so astounding a 
miracle would have been omitted by the 
Synoptics. The student should face this 
problem squarely, for it is a real difficulty. 
Note, however, the exceeding lifelikeness 
of John's narrative. Point out the touches 
of the eyewitness. If the story is difficult 

72 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



to believe, it is also very difficult not to 
believe. It is hard to understand how a 
pure fiction could have become a channel 
of such extraordinary spiritual power. 

The Raising of Lazarus. 11. 1-57 

6. What verse gives the central message 
of the story of Lazarus.^ 

7. Read the story of Martha and Mary 
which is given in Luke 10. 38-42, and then 
note any word or action of Martha in 
John's accoimt that bears out the impression 
of her character which we get from Luke. 

8. V. 4, "This sickness is not unto 
death, but for the glory of God." Where 
have we previously noted a similar deter- 
mination on the part of Jesus to bring the 
glory of God out of an untoward and 
tragic condition? 

9. V. 6. ''When therefore he heard that 
he was sick, he abode at that time two 
days in the place," etc. What would 
have been the natural impulse of Jesus, on 
receiving such a message as this, to go at 
once, or to tarry.^ Can you surmise any 
reason why he remained where he was for 
two days? 

73 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



10. V. 25. "I am the resurrection, and 
the Hfe." Note that this great announce- 
ment is but a continuation of the fixed 
habit of the evangeKst. He always sums 
up all potency in Jesus himself. Recall 
the previous 'T am's" of the Gospel. 
Where previously in this Gospel has Jesus 
proclaimed his power over death .^^ 

11. V. 28. Why did Martha call Mary, 
her sister, secretly? 

12. V. 30. "Now Jesus was not yet 
come into the village," etc. Why did not 
Jesus enter into the village at once, and 
go to the house of the sisters.^ 

13. V. 33. ''He groaned m the spirit," 
etc. What was it that so painfully stirred 
the emotions of Jesus .^^ Was it his deep 
sympathy with the sorrow of the sisters? 
Was it the battle with the mysterious 
powers of darkness that opposed his 
triumph over death? Was it the atmos- 
phere of murderous hate with which he was 
surrounded, and the consciousness that this 
good deed was about to seal his own doom? 

14. What characteristics of Jesus are il- 
lustrated in this story of the raising of 
Lazarus? 

74 



CHAPTER XII 



1. What picturesque illustration do you 
find in this chapter of the way in which 
different types of men interpret phenomena 
in widely different ways? 

2. What evidence have we in this chap- 
ter that Nicodemus was not alone among 
the rulers in his appreciation of the words 
of Jesus? 

The Anointing at Bethany. 12. 1-11 

3. V. 7. "Suffer her to keep it against 
the day of my burying." Does Jesus 
mean, "Allow her to keep the remaining 
part for use at the day of my burying," 
or does he say, "£)o not criticize an act 
which is essentially the same as the setting 
apart of a precious ointment to be used at 
my near-approaching burial" (an act which 
no Jew would condemn)? (See 19. 39.) 
Compare again the story of Jesus's former 
visit to the home of Martha and Mary 
(Luke 10. 38-42). Mary in the former in- 
cident had been criticized for taking time 
to listen. What good effect of the listening 

75 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

habit is manifested in the story of our 
lesson to-day? 

The Triumphal Entry. 12. 12-19 

4. Did Jesus dehberately plan for a 
triumphal entry, or plan to turn the spon- 
taneous ovation, which he knew to be 
inevitable, into right channels.^ 

5. Why did Jesus choose an ass, rather 
than a horse, to ride upon.^^ The answer 
is suggested in the prophetic utterance 
from which John quotes. (See Zech. 9. 
9-10.) 

6. Upon what class of people, ana upon 
people of what age, would the picturesque 
scene of the triumphal entry make an 
especially helpful and enduring impression? 

7. What ground for question and doubt 
would have existed if Jesus had died with- 
out ever allowing the multitude to pro- 
claim him as the Messiah? 

The Visit of the Greeks. 12. 20-36a 

8. What in the story suggests that the 
Greeks had doubts as to whether so famous 
a rabbi as Jesus would feel it worth his 
while to talk with Gentiles? 

76 



QUESTIONANIRE 

9. V. 24. ''Except a grain of wheat," 
etc. What connection is there between 
the thought of the necessity of the Passion 
in order that the Christ should multiply 
his influence throughout the world, and the 
request of the Greeks to see him.^ What 
proposition would the Greeks be likely to 
make to Jesus Compare 7. 35. 

10. Do you imagine that the thought of 
leaving Jerusalem and going to the Gen- 
tiles, to be among them a sage and philos- 
opher, was a real temptation to Jesus 

11. V. 27. 'Tor this cause came I unto 
this hour.'! For what cause.? 

12. V. 32. "And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto myself." 
Recall references to Christ's lifting up in 
Chapters 3 and 8. 

Reasons for Israel's Rejection of 
Jesus. 12. 36b-43 

13. Vs. 39, 40. "For this cause they 
could not believe." Does he mean that 
God foreordained them not to be saved, 
or that their previous fixed habits of in- 
sincerity had rendered them incapable of 
responding to the light .^^ 

77 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

A Resume of Our Lord's Public 
Teaching. 12. 44-50 

14. Does this resume of Jesus's teaching 
suggest to you any previous sayings in 
the Gospel.^ 



78 



CHAPTER XIII 



1. What two indications have we in this 
chapter that the meal here described was 
not the feast of the passover, but that it 
occurred before the passover? Compare 
the Synoptics that plainly suggest that the 
meal was the regular Jewish passover 
(Matt. 26, 17ff.; Mark 14. 12-16; Luke 
22. 7-15). Note the discussions in the 
commentaries. 

2. Where does John suggest that there 
was a peculiar warmth and tenderness in 
Jesus's dealings with his disciples on that 
last night? 

3. What facts in the inner consciousness 
of Jesus does John bring out to emphasize 
the amazing condescension of Christ in 
washing the disciples' feet? 

4. What light have we in this chapter 
on the question as to whether humility 
always consists in a light estimate of 
oneself? 

5. Where does Jesus in this chapter pro- 
nounce doom on the caste system? 

6. Where in this chapter does Jesus sug- 

79 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



gest that hospitality and generous open- 
mindedness toward the messengers of God 
mean the coming of God himself into the 
life? 

The Feet- Washing. 13. 1-20 

7. Luke 22. 24-27 suggests that no one 
had performed the act of washing the dis- 
ciples' feet because each was unwilling to 
take a place subordinate to the rest. What 
was the primary motive of Jesus in wash- 
ing their feet himself .^^ To teach them a 
lesson, or to do something that needed to 
be done for their comfort.^ Is the feet- 
washing a mere ceremony, or a practical 
deed of kindness? 

8. John omits all reference to the bread 
and wine that were to be taken as emblems 
of the body and blood of Christ. Where, 
however, in a previous chapter has this 
thought been fully brought out? 

The Pointing Out of the Traitor 
13. 21-38 

9. What possible good effect might the 
revelation of Judas's traitorous designs 
have had (a) upon Judas? (6) upon the 

80 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



disciples? (The effect that it was designed 
to have upon the other disciples is plainly 
alluded to in the chapter.) 

10. V. 23. "There was at the table re- 
clining in Jesus's bosom one of his dis- 
ciples." What is meant by reclining in 
his bosom? 

11. V. 26. What, in Oriental social life, 
did the giving of the sop signify? We have 
here illustrated what saying of Jesus con- 
tained in 8. 14-16? 

12. V. 27. "And after the sop, then en- 
tered Satan into him.'' Are we to under- 
stand that Judas was conscious of being 
pointed out as the traitor, and therefore 
became furiously angry? Or are we to 
understand that because Judas hardened 
himself against this expression of special 
kindness and courtesy on the part of Jesus, 
the striving of the Spirit with him ceased, 
and he became fully possessed of the 
powers of darkness? 

13. What does the fact that Judas was 
allowed to carry the bag even after his 
thieving was known to Jesus indicate as 
to the Master's conception of the best 
antidote to betrayal of confidence? 

81 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



14. V. SO. "He . • . went out: . . . and 
it was night." Does John simply wish to 
say that it was physically dark, or is there 
an added suggestion of another night into 
which Judas had gone? 

15. V. 31. "When therefore he was gone 
out, Jesus saith. Now is the Son of man 
glorified." Explain so as to show what 
Jesus meant by glorified, and why he 
should have been moved to this exclama- 
tion at this particular time. 

16. V. 34. The command to love is as 
old as the books of Moses. In what re- 
spect is the command of Jesus, "Love one 
another; even as I have loved you," new? 

17. V. 38. What effect was the predic- 
tion of Peter's denial designed to have 
upon him? Does Peter manifest in this 
interview any of the qualities that led to 
his denial? 

18. There was evidently in the mind of 
Jesus a very great difference between the 
betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter. 
Wherein did that difference consist? 



82 



CHAPTER XIV 



1. Reread John 14 enough times to con- 
vince yourself what it is about the chapter 
that gives it such a unique hold upon the 
race. 

2. What saying in this lesson is very 
surprising, in view of the fact that Jesus 
was then entering into the shades of Geth- 

semane? 

3. What reason does Jesus give for an- 
swering the prayers of his disciples? Does 
he later on in the chapter give a different, 
or a similar reason, for submitting to his 
suffering? 

4. Jesus makes certain great announce- 
ments about himself in this chapter, and 
then gives assurance of certain practical 
proofs of these truths which a man may 
have who is willing to make the test. 
What, in your own language, are the 
great announcements, and what are the 
proofs of their validity? What does Jesus 
say a man must do to receive these 
proofs? 

83 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



Jesus and the Father. 14. 1-14 

5. After committing Vs. 1-12, answer 
the following questions: 

6. V. 11. "Believe me that I am in the 
Father, and the Father in me: or else 
believe me for the very works' sake." If 
the disciples had believed Jesus on some 
other basis than his miracles, what would 
that basis have been.^ 

7. V. 12. "Greater worhs than these 
shall he do." How has this promise been 
fulfiUed.^^ 

8. Why can his disciples do greater 
works than Jesus did.^ 

9. Vs. 13, 14. "If ye shall ask anything 
in my name," etc. Does asking in the 
name of Jesus mean that they should 
look to Jesus as a Mediator, or that they 
should use his name as a kind of magic 
power, or that they should ask as his rep- 
resentatives? 

10. V. 14. What would necessarily be 
the nature of a prayer that was asked 
in the name of Jesus It would have to 
be along what lines, and for what pur- 
poses.^ 

84 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



Jesus Foeetells the Coming of the 
Spirit. 14, 15-24 

11. V, 16. Note the other renditions of 
the word translated "Comforter." 

12. V. 18. "I come unto you.'' Does 
this refer to an inner spiritual coming, or 
an outward visible coming, or to both.^ 
Has it been fulfilled once, or many times .^^ 

13. Vs. 22, 23. To Judas the proposal 
of Jesus to manifest himself to the dis- 
ciples, and not unto the world, seems 
arbitrary and partial. Jesus suggests by 
his answer that the special manifestation 
to the disciples is solely because they have 
complied with a condition which may be 
met by all men. What is that condition .^^ 

Previous Words of Comfort Reiter- 
ated IN Different Form. 14. 25-31 

14. V. 27. "Not as the world giveth, 
give I unto you." What is the difference 
between Jesus's gift of peace, and that 
which the Oriental constantly invokes upon 
those whom he meets .'^ 



S5 



CHAPTER XV 



1. Read the chapter through to discover 
the various ways in which the idea that 
Christ is the source of Kfe is repeated. 

2. Read the chapter to note the repeated 
insistence on keeping the commandments 
as the condition of maintaining vital rela- 
tions with Christ. 

3. It is often said that the historical 
facts of Jesus's life are not an essential and 
necessary part of the Gospel. Where in this 
chapter is it suggested that the work of 
the Spirit must be seconded by the work 
of men who have known the whole career 
of Jesus? 

4. In Chapter 13 Jesus had said that a 
servant must not expect to be greater than 
his lord in the matter of performing menial 
tasks. In this chapter he says that a 
servant must not expect to be greater than 
his lord in the matter of enduring what 
experience? 

5. What reason does Jesus in this chap- 
ter give for the unpopularity both of him- 
self and of his true disciples? 

86 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

6. Where does Jesus insist that it is the 
will of God that his disciples should not 
only have influence, but a permanent in- 
fluence? 

7. Where in this chapter is it suggested 
that one of the characteristics of the 
Christian religion is that, in contrast with 
other forms of religion, it gives men, not 
only precepts, but inner understanding of 
the reason for these precepts, and insight 
into the whole program of God? 

8. What, according to this chapter, is 
the supreme test of friendship? 

The Vine and the Branches. 15. 1-27 

9. Vs. 1-7. Memorize these verses, and 
then put down whatever comments have 
spontaneously occurred to you. 

10. V. 2. "Every branch in me that 
beareth fruit." Read the chapter through 
for suggestions as to what is meant by 
fruit-bearing. 

11. V. 3. "Already ye are clean." Where 
in Chapter 13 had Jesus made the same 
statement? 

12. V. 4. "Abide in me." Does this 
mean, "Continue in the habitual obedience 

87 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



to my commandments/' or, "Continue to 
look to me for power and life," or both? 

13. V. 11. "That your joy may be made 
full." Does Jesus contemplate the instan- 
taneous completion of their joy, or is he 
thinking of putting them into that rela- 
tionship with him that will develop into 
the fullest joy? What does this chapter 
suggest as the chief source of Christ's joy? 

14. V. 12. "This is my commandment, 
that ye love one another, even as I have 
loved you." Where in Chapter 13 have 
we the same words? 

15. Vs. 13-16. Read the verses in the 
Kght of the statement that "they are a 
commentary on the command, Xove one 
another as I have loved you.' " 

16. V. 15. "All things that I have heard 
from my Father I have made known unto 
you." Where in 5. 19-29 does Jesus say 
that the Father deals with him after the 
same fashion? . 

17. V. 16. "Ye did not choose me, but 
I chose you." Why is this fact men- 
tioned? Is it intended to encourage, or 
humble the disciples? 

88 



CHAPTER XVI 

!• Where in this chapter is it taught 
that the work of the Holy Spirit is to take 
the gernainant principles of Jesus and 
apply them in new and fresh ways to 
novel situations as they arise? 

2. What does Jesus say concerning the 
Holy Spirit which he has previously as- 
serted concerning himself? 

3. It is suggested in this chapter that 
from this time forth the praying of the 
disciples is to be different. In what 
respect? 

The Coming Conflict and the Coming 
Comforter. 16. 1-33 

4. V. 7. "The Comforter." Note the 
alternative translations in the margin. 

5. V. 7. "It is expedient for you that I 
go away." Why was it expedient for them 
that Christ should die, and ascend out of 
their sight? 

6. V. 8. What is meant by convicting 
the world of righteousness? That there is 
such a thing as righteousness, or that the 
thing which Jesus stood for was the ideal? 

89 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



7. V. 10. "Of righteousness, because I 
go to the Father, and ye behold me no 
more." Why would the resurrection and 
ascension of Jesus convict the world of 
his righteousness? 

8. V. 11. ''Of judgment, because the 
prince of this world hath been judged." 
What experience of Jesus, in which the 
prince of this world seemed to conquer, 
was, in reality, the undoing of the evil 
powers.^ 

9. V. 13. "He shall declare unto you 
the things that are to come." Does this 
mean that he will predict the future, or 
that he will guide them in the decision of 
the problems that will arise, or both? 
(Acts 20. 29-30; 11. 27-30; 27. 9-10, 21-26; 
2 Tim. 3. Iff.; Acts 10. 1-44; 13. 1-3; 16. 
6-10; 15. 1-41, especially v. 28.) 

10. V. 22. "And ye therefore now have 
sorrow: but I will see you again, and your 
heart shall rejoice." Is the appearance of 
Christ which is here predicted the ap- 
pearance after the resurrection, or the 
appearance at the end of the age, or 
Christ's sudden manifestation of himself to 
his disciples as a living reality when, after 

90 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



faith and patience, they have the witness 
of the Holy Spirit or when they see his 
^ outstretched hand of judgment in human 
affairs? 

11. V. 24. "Hitherto have ye asked 
nothing in my name." Does this mean 
that hitherto their prayers had not been 
in accordance with the spirit of Jesus, and 
for the purposes which he stood for, or 
does it mean that they had not based 
their plea on his merits.^ 

12. V. 33. "These things have I spoken 
unto you, that in me ye may have peace." 
For what purpose is it said in Chapter 15 
that he had spoken these things? 

13. Read one of the apocalypses con- 
cerning the end of things in the Synoptic 
Gospels, as, for instance, Mark 13; and 
then contrast its hopes with those voiced 
in John 14-16 (written after the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem). What is the main difv 
ference between the two outlooks? 

14. Review the references to the Holy 
Spirit in the upper room discourses (14-16). 
Try and combine into a unified conception 
the various statements which Jesus makes 
concerning the Holy Spirit. 

91 



CHAPTER XVII 



1. What condition does Jesus here set 
forth as fundamental for the estabKshment 
of faith in the world? 

2. What, according to this prayer, is to 
be the source of all power, unity, and love 
in behevers? 

3. What is the chief underlying thought 
of the whole prayer? 

4. The Prologue says, ''In the beginning 
was the Word, and the Word was with 
God, and the Word was God." Where 
have we in this chapter a reiteration of 
this teaching? 

5. Where have we, in spite of the vivid 
contrast between the church and the world 
which is everywhere insisted upon, a plain 
statement that the church is not to quar- 
antine against contact with the world? 

6. Where in the chapter does Jesus refer 
to his Passion? 

The Intercessory Prayer. 17. 1-26 

7. The prayer falls into three parts: 
I. For himself. 

92 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



II. For his immediate disciples. 
III. For those who through the disciples' 
word should believe on him. 
Put the verses after each heading. 

8. V. 1. "The hour is come." Where 
previously has it been said that his hour 
was not yet come? 

9. V. 2. 'That to all whom thou hast 
given him, he should give eternal life." Is 
this designed to assert mechanical foreor- 
dination, or to encourage men to believe 
that there can be no accidents in the 
spiritual realm, but that all who long for 
God will ultimately be found by the 
Saviour .f^ 

10. V. 11. "Keep them in thy name." 
Explain. 

11. V. 17. "Sanctify them in the truth: 
thy word is truth." What is meant by 
the word "sanctify"? Are the disciples to 
be sanctified by means of the truth, or 
sanctified to a life in harmony with the 
truth? 

12. V. 19. "And for their sakes I sanc- 
tify myself." To what act does Jesus espe- 
cially refer? 

13. V. 22. "And the glory which thou 

93 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

hast given me I have given unto them/' 
What was the nature of the glory which 
he had given them? 



94 



CHAPTER XVni 



1. We have in this chapter certain de- 
tails which would hardly have been in- 
serted unless they had been the vivid 
reminiscences of an eyewitness. Point out 
some of them. 

2. Peter had said that he would lay 
down his hfe for Jesus. Does he, or does 
he not, according to this lesson, risk his 
life in defense of him.^ 

3. According to Luke, just before his 
arrest Jesus had said to the disciples that 
if they had no sword they should sell their 
cloaks and buy one (22. 36). What oc- 
currence in this chapter plainly indicates 
that Jesus did not mean that the disciples 
should take him literally? 

4. John omits the story of Gethsemane 
where Jesus says, "If it be possible, let 
this cup pass from me.'* Where, however, 
in this chapter have we in the words of 
Jesus a reminiscence of this prayer? 

5. What illustration have we in this 
chapter of the saying of John in 13. 1, 

95 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



"Having loved his own that were in the 
world, he loved them unto the end"? 

6. In the story of the opposition to Jesus 
on account of his Sabbath miracles (Chaps. 
5 and 9) we have seen how utter wicked- 
ness may be united with fastidious, con- 
scientious scruples. Where is this fact 
vividly illustrated in Chapter 18? 

7. What characteristics of Jesus is John 
most anxious to have us note in the story 
of the arrest? 

The Arrest and Denial. 18. 1-27 

8. V. 4. ''Jesus therefore, knowing all 
the things that were coming upon him, 
went forth.'' Why did he go forth? 

9. V. 6. "They went backward, and fell 
to the ground." In what previous chapter 
have we had an illustration of the power of 
Christ's personality to awe those who were 
sent to arrest him? 

10. Vs. 15-27. Is there any relation be- 
tween Jesus's attitude toward Peter's 
heroic attempt to save him by attacking 
the soldiers and this sudden reaction of 
cowardice? 

96 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

The Trial Before Pilate. 18. 28-40 

11. V. 30. *Tf this man were not an 
evil-doer, we should not have delivered 
him up unto thee." What made the Jews 
give Pilate this evasive answer.^ 

12. V. 32. "That the word of Jesus 
might be fulfilled, which he spake, signi- 
fying by what manner of death he should 
die.'' Where, according to John, did Jesus 
speak these words 

13. V. 39. Why did Pilate call to the 
people's mind his custom of releasing one 
at the passover.^ 



97 



CHAPTER XIX 



1. Where in this chapter do we have 
marks o£ the eyewitness? 

2. Where is there a definite claim that 
the chapter embodies the report of an eye- 
witness? 

3. Where does Jesus express his faith in 
the overruling control of Providence, even 
in this black hour? 

4. What additional evidence do we find 
in this chapter of the extreme conscien- 
tiousness about matters of ritual that 
characterized the Jews, even in the midst 
of their great crime? 

The Trial Before Pilate (Continued) 
19. 1-16 

5. V. 1. "Then Pilate therefore took 
Jesus, and scourged him/' Did Pilate do 
this to satisfy the Jews, or with the hope 
of arousing their sympathy to a reaction of 
pity for Jesus? 

6. V. 6. "They cried, . . . Crucify him:' 
In your opinion, was this the crowd of 
peasants that greeted Jesus at the trium- 

98 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



phal entry, or the lower elements of the 
city, and the hangers-on of the chief 
priests? 

7. V. 8. ''When Pilate therefore heard 
this saying, he was the more afraid." Was 
Pilate afraid that perhaps Jesus might 
have some mysterious power, or was he 
afraid of the people? 

8. V. 9. "But Jesus gave him no an- 
swer/' Why? Compare Luke 23. 8-12. 

9. V. 10. "Pilate therefore saith unto 
him, Speakest thou not unto me?'' What 
word is emphatic? 

10. V. 11. "Therefore he that delivered 
me unto thee hath greater sin." To whom 
does he refer? Why was his sin greater 
than that of the heathen Pilate? 

11. V. 16. What were the influences 
that led Pilate to yield at last to the wish 
of the Jews? 

The Crucifixion and Burial. 19. 17-42 

12. Read the account of the crucifixion 
m Matt. 27. 32-56; Mark 15. 21-41; and 
Luke 23. 26-49, and note the main inci- 
dents given in each of them which are not 
found in John's account. 

99 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



13. T\Tiat are the main details which are 
found in John alone? 

14. Vs. 19-22. Why is John so inter- 
ested in telling us of Pilate's refusal to 
change his inscription, "Jesus of Nazareth 
the King of the Jews".^^ Does he conceive 
that a divine hand had controlled Pilate's 
action at this time, just as Caiaphas, in 
spite of his evil intent, was led unwittingly 
to make a true prophecy that Christ should 
die for the people.^ (11. 49-52.) 

15. V. 39. "And there came also Nico- 
demus . . . , bringing a mixture of myrrh 
and aloes, about a himdred pounds." 
What is the point of mentioning the 
weight.^ 

16. What passages of the 18th and 19th 
chapters especially bring out — 

I. The voluntariness of Christ's suf- 
fering.^ 

II. The fulfillment of a divine plan in 

Christ's suffering.^ 
ni. The majesty which shines through 

Christ's suflFerings? 
Write out the references and opposite 
each reference the indication of its sub- 
stance. 

100 . 



CHAPTER XX 



1. What details in this story are of such 
character as would be very natural for one 
who was personally concerned in them to 
relate, but not so natural for a later writer 
to preserve to us? 

2. Does John in this chapter try to 
prove the fact that Christ rose from the 
dead, or is he, rather, interested in giving 
Christ's revelations of himself and of his 
truth, which were made to the disciples 
after the resurrection? Contrast the ac- 
count of the resurrection in 1 Cor. 15. 3-7, 
which was put down with a distinctly dif- 
ferent purpose in mind. 

3. Where in this chapter do you find a 
statement of John's purpose in writing the 
Gospel? 

4. What statement in the chapter sug- 
gests that the disciples had no strong 
mental presuppositions in favor of the 
resurrection of Jesus? 

The Empty Tomb. 20. 1-10 

5. Vs. 6-7. Wherein was the fact that 

101 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



they found the stone rolled away, and the 
grave clothes lying in orderly array, an 
evidence that Christ was risen from the 
dead? 

6. Were these details about the grave 
clothes sufficient to prove the resiu-rection 

s to the beloved disciple, or were they 
simply the last straw? 

The Appearance to Mary Magdalene 
20. 11-18 

7. For what purpose had Mary come to 
the tomb? (Luke 24. 1.) 

8. V. 17. 'Touch me not." By repelling 
Mary Magdalene's desire for the renewing 
of the earthly friendship, what greater 
blessing does Jesus intend to bestow upon 
her? 

The First Appearance to the Apostles 
IN THE Upper Room. 20. 19-23 

9. What reminiscences of previous words 
of Jesus come to you as you read this first 
interview of the risen Christ with the apos- 
tolic group? 

10. V. 20. "He showed unto them his 
hands and his side." Why? 

102 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

11. V. 21. "Jesus therefore said to them 
again, Peace be unto you." This makes 
you think of what saying in the 14th 
chapter? 

12. V. 23. "Whose soever sins ye for- 
give, they are forgiven unto them." Does 
this mean that they are the authoritative 
expounders of the conditions of forgiveness, 
or that they are endowed with insight to 
know when people have met these condi- 
tions, or that, by reason of their insight 
into the conditions of forgiveness, their 
deep penetration into the secrets of the 
human^heart, and the grace of the Holy 
Spirit which was upon them, they are en- 
dowed with power to communicate the 
forgiving grace of God.^ 

13. Are we to imderstand that the power 
of forgiving sins would abide with the apos- 
tles by virtue of their office, or only by 
virtue of their continued experience of the 
power and guidance of the Holy Spirit in 
their lives? 

14. The commission to forgive sins, ac- 
cording to the Synoptic Gospels, was con- 
ferred upon Peter (Matt. 16. 19). Here it 
is conferred upon the eleven. Are we to 

103 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



understand that it is the privilege of all 
who meet the conditions which Peter and 
the apostles fulfilled? Compare the an- 
cient prophet's exercise of this preroga- 
tive (2 Sam. 12. 13). 

The Appearance to Thomas. 20. 24-31 

15. In the previous reference to Thomas 
in this Gospel, what light is thrown on his 
character.'^ 

16. Is it likely that Thomas was a nat- 
ural skeptic, or a man subject to profound 
fits of depression from which it seemed 
impossible for him to rouse himself? 

17. V. 29. "Blessed are they that have 
not seen, and yet have beheved.'' Is it 
ever right to believe without^evidence? 
See Mark 13. 5; also the first Epistle of 
John 4. 1. 

18. What evidence had Thomas already 
had, during the three years of his associa- 
tion with Christ, that was sufficient to 
make it credible that the Saviour would 
rise from the dead? 

19. Is the blessing then pronoimced upon 
the man who believes without evidence, or 
upon the man who is so spiritually sensitive 

104 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

to the evidence that is found in the majesty 
of Christ, the fascination of his personality 
and his wondrous power over the human 
spirit, that he does not demand the added 
evidence that appeals to the senses? 

20. Where in the first chapter of John 
have we seen Jesus pleased with a disciple 
who believed in him on evidence that 
would only have been impressive to a 
deeply spiritual nature? 



105 



CHAPTER XXI 



1. Do you find anything in Chapter 20 
which leads you to suppose that Chapter 
21 is an afterthought, rather than a part 
of the original plan of the Gospel? 

2. Note indications in the chapter 

(a) of the work of the eyewitness, 

(b) of the hand of an editor. 

3. John's Gospel (Chaps. 14-16) chiefly 
emphasizes the coming of Christ through 
the Holy Spirit to the individual. What 
indication, however, do we find in this 
chapter that the author had not dismissed 
the thought of a final visible coming of 
Christ.?^ 

4. It is characteristic of John's Gospel 
that he often expects his readers to take 
him literally, but at the same time to see 
symbolical suggestions in his words. Where 
in the present lesson do we find illustra- 
tions of this combined literalism and sym- 
bolism? 

5. What indications have we in this 
chapter that the evangelist gives us only a 
few of the numberless activities of Jesus, 

106 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

and develops but little of the endless sug- 
gest! veness of his teachings? 

6. The Simon Peter of the Synoptic 
Gospels, and also the Simon Peter por- 
trayed in the previous chapters of this 
Gospel, is a person of aggressive character 
and leadership. Where in the present 
chapter does he exhibit these characteris- 
tics? 

7. Simon Peter had said (13, 37), "I 
will lay down my life for thee/' Jesus 
had replied that, on the contrary, Peter 
would deny him. Where in the present 
chapter, however, do we find that Peter's 
protestation is to be fulfilled? 

8. Jesus, the night before his crucifixion, 
had said to Simon Peter (13. 36), "Whither 
I go thou canst not follow me now, but 
thou shalt follow afterwards.'^ What word 
of Jesus in this chapter recalls this saying? 

9. It is common to-day to say that reli- 
gion consists entirely in social service, and 
it has been common, in times past, to act 
as though it consisted entirely in mystic 
inner devotion to Christ. Where in this 
chapter is there presented a conception of 
Christianity that involves these two as- 

107 



A STUDY OP JOHN'S GOSPEL 



pects of true religion in their right rela- 
tion? 

Jesus Appears to the Disciples by the 
Sea of Galilee. 21. 1-14 

10. Some commentators consider this ac- 
count to be simply a varied form of the 
story recorded in Luke 5. 1-11. What 
fimdamental differences do you notice.^ 

11. Why, in your opinion, did Jesus work 
the miracle of the miraculous draught of 
fishes.^ 

12. V. 4. "Jesus stood on the beach, 
yet the disciples knew not that it was 
Jesus." Where previously in this Gospel 
is the Master represented as working mir- 
acles "incognito'\f^ 

13. V. 7. "That disciple therefore whom 
Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the 
Lord.'' Why did he think so? 

14. V. 12. "None of the disciples durst 
inquire of him, Who art thou?" The in- 
quiry would have implied distrust. Where 
in Chapter 4 is it said that the disciples 
felt restrained from asking a question 
which implied doubt of the wisdom of 
Jesus? 

108 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

Simon Peter's Commission. 21. 15-25 

15. V. 15. ''Jesus saith to Simon Peter, 
Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more 
than these?" More than these disciples 
love me.^ or more than thou lovest these 
disciples.^ or more than thou lovest this 
fishing boat and this net, and the pur- 
suits of your former life.^ (Mark 14. 29.) 

16. Can you think of any reason why 
Jesus should have repeated the question, 
"Lovest thou me?" three times? 

17. V. 17. Why was Peter grieved that 
Jesus said to him a third time, "Lovest 
thou me?" 

18. What does Jesus mean by feeding 
the sheep? Does he refer to preaching 
the gospel, or to caring for the physical 
and intellectual well-being of men? 



109 



SEARCH QUESTIONS ON CHAPTERS 

1. In what chapter must the disciples 
of Jesus who had also been disciples of 
John the Baptist have noticed a marked 
difference between the stern asceticism of 
John's severe life, and the more human 
social habits of our Lord? 

2. Where does Jesus express his grief 
over the weakness of faith that demands 
signs and wonders, and cannot rest upon 
the deeper spiritual miracle of his own 
divine personality and inspired teachings? 

3. Find in at least three different chap- 
ters the statement that Jesus is the Ught 
of the world. 

4. Where does Jesus express the truth 
that no place or task is so safe for a man 
as the place and the task which God ap- 
points to him? 

5. Where does Jesus describe as spiritual 
criminals those who seek for leadership 
over his people with selfish purposes? 

6. Where in these chapters, when a 
crowd wished to compliment Jesus as an 

110 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

intellectual prodigy, who had learned with- 
out the advantage of the schools, does he 
at once turn aside the compliment and 
refer them to the source of his inspiration? 

7. Where is the pre-existence of Christ 
asserted by the author of the fourth Gos- 
pel? Where in another chapter is Jesus 
himself represented as proclaiming it? 

8. Where in these chapters does Jesus, 
when confronted by inquiring Greeks, sug- 
gest that the way in which he is to reach 
the outside nations will be by meeting his 
fate in doing his local task? 

9. What indications do we find in the 
earlier part of the Gospel that Jesus fore- 
saw his coming martyrdom? 

10. In what incident is the uttermost 
devotion and love brought into most vivid 
contrast with the spirit of the traitor? 

11. Popular Jewish theology taught that 
misfortune was a proof of sin, either in a 
man or his parents. Where does Jesus set 
himself against this idea? 

12. In what chapter does Jesus, by a 
beautiful figure of speech, state that those 
who believe in him will become sources of 
great helpfulness to others? 

Ill 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

13. Where does Jesus, at the risk of his 
life, show his devotion to friends in 
trouble? 

14. Where does Jesus insist that a man 
who is inclined to conform to the moral 
standards which God reveals will be made 
sure that Christ is the representative of 
God? 

15. Where does Jesus commend the lav- 
ish expression of devotion to himself .^^ 

16. Where do we find evidence that the 
personality and eloquence of Jesus ap- 
pealed powerfully even to the temple 
policemen.^ 

17. Where does Jesus say, in effect, that 
if a man persistently holds to his effort to 
understand and to follow his command- 
ments, he will find himself made free.^^ 

18. Where does Jesus, as over against 
the world's tendency to look to sacred 
places as the sources of special inspiration, 
set forth the evangel that communion with 
God may be enjoyed to the full in any 
place, and that a man may have within 
him at all times an endless and ever- 
renewed source of refreshment and life.^ 

19. Where does an apostle, confronted 

112 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

with a difficult and disappointing state- 
ment of Jesus, refuse to leave him on that 
account, because, in spite of the difficulties 
of Jesus's teachings, he had found that 
they imparted life and inspiration, and be- 
cause the alternatives to Jesus were men 
who could impart no life at all? 

20. Where does Jesus suggest that there 
is a divinely appointed time for the crucial 
events of his ministry? 

21. Where does John give us the story 
of how a man's belief develops as he 
stands up for his benefactor, and for the 
facts that he knows, as over against the 
sneers of hypocrites? 

22. Where does Jesus, in an interview 
with a dignitary, who was doubtless dream- 
ing about a new social and religious order 
for his nation, suggest to this man that be- 
fore engaging in the work of reconstruction 
he, in common with his class, needed to 
have his wEole outlook upon life spirit- 
ualized? 

23. Under what figure of speech does 
Jesus show that his true disciples have an 
instinct to know his leading, and to reject 
the leading of false men? 

113 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



24. In what two chapters in 1-12 does 
Jesus teach the doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion? 

25. Where in the early part of the Gos- 
pel does Jesus teach that the transforma- 
tion which goes on in a man's soul, when 
he passes from darkness to light, while it is 
mysterious and inexplicable, is nevertheless 
plainly manifest by its results.^ 

26. Where does Jesus suggest that in the 
accomplishing of the tasks set for him by 
the Father he found nourishment, strength, 
and joy.^^ 



114 



SEARCH QUESTIONS ON CHAPTERS 

xin-xxi 



1. It is said by some, on the basis of the 
words of Jesus to Peter in the Synoptics 
(Matt. 16. 13-20), that he and his suc- 
cessors alone were commissioned with 
power to bind and to loose. Where in this 
Gospel is this power plainly bestowed upon 
all of the apostles .^^ 

2. Where does Jesus lay down the old 
law of love as the fundamental principle for 
the guidance of his disciples, but in such a 
manner as to give it a new dynamic and 
far greater intensity than it had had 
before.^ 

3. Where does Jesus insist that his own 
personality and his own teachings are a 
sufficient revelation of God to the world 

4. Where does Jesus indicate that in 
order to bring the world to faith in him 
the disciples must manifest the spirit of 
unity? 

5. Where do you find a passage which 
asserts the endless variety of Christ's min- 
istries and their infinite suggestiveness? 

115 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



6. Where does John state the purpose 
for which his Gospel was written? 

7. Where does Jesus illustrate his knowl- 
edge of what is in the hearts of his follow- 
ers, and his foresight of their probable 
actions? 

8. Where does Jesus, in his prayer, 
show that separation from the world is 
not to mean removal from contact with 
men, but, rather, protection from the in- 
fection of sin? 

9. Where does Jesus show that a cer- 
tainty that Christ is alive in the world 
will come to the man who keeps his com- 
mandments? 

10. In what figure of speech drawn from 
the natural world does Jesus teach that 
influence and power come to those who 
patiently continue in his teaching? 

11. Where does Jesus come to dis- 
couraged and hard-working disciples with 
a miracle that suggests to them his provi- 
dential care for their physical needs? 

12. Where is it asserted that love to 
Jesus is to be expressed by service to his 
brethren? 

13. Where does Jesus teach the disciples 

116 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

that they will have divine reenf orcement in 
convincing the world that the rejection of 
Christ is a sin, and that he represents 
God's ideal of righteousness, and that the 
power that opposes him is doomed to 
failure? 

14. If one were to say that Jesus's ad- 
dressing his mother as "woman'' (John 2) 
showed lack of tenderness and deference, 
what repetition of this form of address 
would confute this statement? 

15. Where have we an illustration of 
how Jesus satisfied the demand of one of 
his disciples for a physical evidence of his 
resurrection, while he at the same time ex- 
pressed greater approval of those who 
could believe the report of it on the 
ground that it was the inevitable outcome 
for one who had lived a sinless life of such 
divine power and beauty? 

16. Where does Jesus perform an act 
which revolutionized the world's ordinary 
conception of that which comports with 
the dignity of a great man? 

17. Where does Jesus teach his disciples 
that after his departure a Helper will be 
sent to them, who will give them divine 

117 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

guidance in solving the problems that 
arise, and in applying the principles which 
he has taught them? 

18. Where does Jesus, as over against an 
earthly magistrate, show his supreme dig- 
nity and sense of imperial power? 

19. Where does Jesus warn the disciples 
that his spirit will so differentiate them 
from the world that they will meet hatred 
and antagonism? 

20. Where does Jesus permit himself to 
be pubUcly proclaimed as the Messiah? 



118 



THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 
JOHN AND THE SYNOPTICS 



1. The Synoptic narratives of the life of 
Jesus have to do almost entirely with the 
part of Jesus's ministry that occurred in 
Galilee. Glance over the Gospel of John, 
and note the portions that have to do 
with Jesus's Galilaean ministry. Where 
are the other incidents of the Gospel 
laid? 

2. The Synoptic Gospels all agree in 
making Jesus speak in a certain Kterary 
style. This is well illustrated in the Ser- 
mon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7, and in 
the parables of Matthew 13. When we 
turn to John we note a marked difference 
in vocabulary. Especially do we find the 
habit of frequently repeating certain words, 
such as "life'' and "light.'' Read the 
Sermon on the Moimt in Matthew, and 
compare it with the discourses of Jesus 
in John 5 and 6, to verify this statement. 

3. As one reads such passages as, for 
instance, John 5. 19-47; 10. 1-18; 15. 1-11; 
and 17. 1-26, he notices repetitions in the 

119 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



thought like the refrain of a piece of music. 
After reading these passages, turn to the 
Synoptics and find whether the recurring 
refrains in the thought are as frequent and 
manifest. 

4. Read the parables of Jesus in Mat- 
thew 13, and contrast them with the very 
different type of parables foimd in John 
10 and 15. 1-11. 

5. In certain passages in John the peda- 
gogic skill of Jesus shines forth uniquely, 
as, for instance, in the interview with the 
Samaritan woman (Chap. 4). But in other 
passages John's comments and enlarge- 
ments, though we cannot but be grateful 
that he made them, make Jesus appear to 
say certain things that would perhaps not 
have been altogether natural in the con- 
versations reported. See, for instance, the 
latter part of the Nicodemus interview. 
Now turn to the Synoptics, and note the 
comparative absence of passages that 
would have been strange as coming from 
the mouth of Jesus in the exact form 
quoted, and under the precise circum- 
stance. (There can be no doubt, however, 
that certain sayings in the Synoptics are 

120 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



also plainly inspired interpretations of a 
later generation.) 

6. In the Gospel of John Jesus is con- 
stantly and almost exclusively occupied in 
explaining the significance of his own per- 
son as the source of life and salvation. 
Read as far as you can into one of the 
Synoptic Gospels, and see if this is to the 
same extent the exclusive subject of Jesus's 
teachings. 

7. The Synoptics are constantly speak- 
ing of the Kingdom of God, or the King- 
dom of heaven. In John these phrases 
scarcely occur at all (John 3. 3). What in 
John's phrase takes the place of the King- 
dom of God, as the chief good toward 
which men are to strive.^ (3. 16; 5. 24; 
10. 10; 20. 31; etc.) 

8. The first call of Peter and Andrew 
mentioned in the Synoptics was by the 
Sea of Galilee, after the beginning of 
Jesus's public ministry (Matt. 4. 18-22; 
Mark 1. 16-20). When and where, accord- 
ing to John, was Jesus's first contact with 
these men? 

9. If we assume that but one incident 
of the kind occurred, wherein does John 

121 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



differ from the Synoptics on the time of 
the cleansing of the temple? 

10. We have already noted (Chap. 13) 
that John places the Last Supper before 
the passover. Does he agree on this 
point with the Synoptics.^^ 

11. According to the Synoptics, Peter's 
confession that Jesus was the Messiah did 
not occiu' until toward the end of his min- 
istry (Matt. 16. 13-20), and even when he 
did make this confession Jesus commanded 
the disciples to tell no man that he was 
the Christ. Is there any utterance of 
Jesus in John 4 that is apparently out of 
harmony with this attitude.'^ 

These differences between John and the 
first three Gospels, while many of them 
can be explained on other grounds, clearly 
prove that either the first three Gospels 
or John used a large amount of freedom 
in handling the material in their posses- 
sion. Considerations which cannot here 
be dwelt upon plainly point to the fact 
that it is the author of the fourth Gospel 
that has taken the liberties with the prim- 
itive form of Jesus's teaching. The ques- 
tion then arises whether John has gone 

122 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

further than the change of the outward 
form, and has to any serious extent altered 
the substance and spirit of the gospel of 
Christ. To this problem we now address 
ourselves. 



123 



THE PROFOUND INNER HARMONY 
BETWEEN JOHN AND THE 
SYNOPTICS 

1. The Johannine and the Synoptic 
Conception of the Method of 
Christ's Self-Revelation 

It is often said that there is an irre- 
concilable difference between John and the 
first three Gospels, in that the Synoptics 
represent Jesus as reticent about the 
declaration of his Messiahship, while the 
fourth Gospel makes him proclaim himself 
as the Christ from the very first, and we 
see no development in the process of his 
self -revelation. 

In order to consider this problem dis- 
criminatinglj^ we must understand some of 
the reasons for our Lord's reticence. The 
last word has not been said about this 
matter, but it is plain that one reason 
was Jesus' s desire to refrain from raising 
false hopes. The word "Messiah" imme- 
diately conjured up in a Jew's mind a 
vision of war and conquest and military 
glory. It was a firebrand, and conveyed 
124 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

a false impression of what Jesus was or 
intended to be. 

Another reason for our Lord's reticence 
was his desire not to force upon the dis- 
ciples views about himself that their spirit- 
ual progress had not qualified them to 
appreciate, and the grounds for which they 
were not yet able to see with their own 
eyes. 

Having made these preliminary observa- 
tions, we now propose the following ques- 
tions : 

1. Were the great self -revelations of 
Christ in John's Gospel of such a char- 
acter as to raise revolutionary excitement 
and carnal expectations? 

(1) Read John 5, which contains one of 
the baldest assertions of Christ's highest 
claims, and decide whether these state- 
ments were uttered under circumstances 
that remotely tended to arouse the pa- 
triotic enthusiasm of the crowds full of 
carnal Messianic dreams of revolution and 
conquest. Compare also the great dis- 
course after the miracle in John 6. What 
effect did the discourse in 6. 22-71 have 
upon the crowds? Did it increase or de- 
125 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

crease the danger of stirring up false hopes 
and a revolutionary uprising? 

(2) Did the discourse in 8. 12-59 earn 
him popular applause, or persecution? 

(3) What effect did Jesus's great self- 
declaration at the feast of dedication (10. 
22-39) have upon the crowds? 

2. Is Christ's declaration of himself as 
Messiah in John 4 a contradiction to his 
policy of reserve in the Synoptics? 

(1) According to Matthew 16, Jesus 
charges the disciples that they tell no 
man that he is the Christ, but in ap- 
parent inconsistency with this program, 
Jesus in John 4 is represented as telling 
the woman that he is the Christ. What 
conception, however, is the woman repre- 
sented as expressing concerning the work 
and function of the Messiah? 

(2) Would the Samaritans be anxious 
to proclaim a Jewish military Messiah, in 
view of the fact that, according to the 
Jewish dreams, the Samaritans would be 
among the first to suffer his vengeance? 

3. Have we definite evidence in John 
of the same guarding against Messianic 
excitement that we find in the Synoptics? 

126 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



(1) Where have we in John 2 plain indi- 
cation of Jesus's caution in trusting himself 
to followers who did not understand the 
spirituality of his commission? 

(2) Where have we in John 3 plain evi- 
dence of our Lord's abrupt manner with a 
man who was in danger of looking upon 
his kingdom as earthly and political? 

(3) Where in John 5 do we note our 
Lord's care to avoid a crowd excited by 
one of his miracles? 

(4) Where in Chapter 6 have we plain 
evidence of his determined policy of avoid- 
ing excited multitudes of men who wished 
to put him at their head? 

(5) Where in Chapter 7 do we see Jesus 
deliberately refusing to advertise himself as 
the Messiah, and refusing to go up to the 
feast at the head of a group of unspiritual 
men who hoped to gain something from 
their relation to him? 

(6) Where in Chapter 10 have we plain 
evidence that, in spite of his amazing self- 
assertions, Jesus had avoided the use of 
the word "Messiah,'' and thus had tan- 
talized and perplexed his enemies? 

(7) Where in Chapters 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, and 

127 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



12 do you find Jesus predicting his own 
death, and thus putting a damper on the 
carnal hopes of his disciples? 

II. The Johannine and the Synoptic 
Conception of the Person and 
Authority of Christ 

The critics who attack the essential con- 
formity of the fourth Gospel to the mind 
and teaching of Jesus do it on the score 
that it stresses the divine nature of Christ 
in a way that is out of harmony with the 
Synoptic Gospels. It would be well to 
examine the Synoptics to see whether or 
no this difference is as real as it is ap- 
parent. To this end we propose the fol- 
lowing search questions: 

(1) All through John's Gospel Jesus 
claims to be the Son of God. Where in 
Matthew 3 have we a story that is equally 
strong in assigning this position to Jesus 

(2) The fourth Gospel represents Jesus 
as claiming that a man's personal attitude 
toward him and his teachings determines 
his eternal destiny. Where in Matthew 7 
and 10 have we passages which, in less 
bald form, but nevertheless quite as un- 

128 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



mistakably, assert that Christ is to be the 
arbiter of destiny? 

(3) John represents Jesus as working 
astounding miracles, like the healing of the 
paralytic, the restoration of sight to the 
blind, and the raising of the dead. What 
similar great miracles are recorded in 
Matthew 9? 

(4) John represents Jesus as offering to 
make the disciples sources of life, healing, 
and inspiration to others. Where in Mat- 
thew 10 is he represented as conferring the 
same power upon his disciples.^ 

(5) In John 14 Jesus made the great 
promise that he would come again. Where 
in Matthew 10 do we find a similar pas- 
sage.^ 

(6) In John 14-16 Jesus promises the 
Spirit to assist the disciples in their work 
for his kingdom. Where in Matthew 10 
do we find a similar promise of divine re- 
enforcement when they face difficulties for 
Christ's sake? 

(7) Jesus in John's Gospel says, "No one 
Cometh unto the Father, but by me." 
Where in Matthew 11 does he state that 
he alone is the revealer of God? 

129 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



(8) The Jesus of John's Gospel promises 
inward rest and peace to all that follow 
him (Chap. 14). Where in Matthew 11 
do we find a similar promise.^ 

(9) Jesus in John 5 claims the right to 
do the work of God, even though it break 
the Jewish Sabbath traditions. Where in 
Matthew 12 does he make a similar ma- 
jestic claim concerning his relation to the 
Sabbath? 

(10) The Jesus of John says that the 
Father hath given all judgment unto the 
Son. Where in one of the parables in 
Matthew 13 does Jesus speak of himself 
as in authority at the Judgment Day? 
Compare also the parable of the sheep and 
the goats in Matthew 25. 31-46. 

(11) The fourth Gospel represents Jesus 
as multiplying the loaves and the fishes 
(John 6). Where have we a parallel pas- 
sage in Matthew 14? 

(12) The fourth Gospel represents Jesus 
as being able to heal at a distance (John 4) . 
Where in Matthew 15 have we a parallel 
passage? 

(13) According to John, Jesus is repre- 
sented as predicting his own resurrection. 

130 



QUESTIONNAIRE 



He says, "I lay down my life, that I may 
take it again/' Where in Matthew 17 do 
we find a similar promise of his own resur- 
rection? 

(14) John makes a great promise to 
those who ask in the name of Jesus (14. 
14 and 15. 7). Where m Matthew 18 do 
we have an essentially parallel passage.^^ 

(15) The fourth Gospel represents Jesus 
as conferring upon the apostles through 
the Holy Ghost the unique power to bind 
and to loose (20. 23). Where in the 18th 
chapter of Matthew is he represented as 
conveying a similar authority.^^ 

(16) John's Gospel represents Jesus as 
God's only begotten Son, who has a xmique 
relation to the Father, and to the salvation 
of the world (3. 16). In what parable in 
Luke 20 do we find practically the same 
distinction made between the Christ and 
the other great servants of God.^ 

III. The Johannine and the Synoptic 
Conception op the Chief Good 
FOR Man and for Society 

According to the Synoptics, Jesus came 
to set up the kingdom of God. He used 
131 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



this phrase because it was constantly in 
the mouths of the multitude, and he 
sought to spiritualize it (Luke 17. 21). 
With John's Gentile audience this phrase 
was no longer as effective as in the days of 
Jesus's Palestinian ministry, and it was 
also perhaps somewhat dangerous as a 
popular slogan on account of the jealousy 
of the Roman emperors, and their suspicion 
of revolutionary elements in Christianity. 
Hence John chose to bring to the front 
another phrase of Jesus which better 
served his purpose for expressing the mind 
of Christ to his own generation. That 
phrase was "eternal life." Where, how- 
ever, have we evidence that John's ideal 
of the goal which Jesus set before the dis- 
ciples was not a whit less social than the 
Synoptic conception of the kingdom of 
God.^ (John 10. 11; 13. 34; 17. 1-26; 21. 
15-17.) 



132 



QUESTIONNAIRE 

If the rephrasing of the words of Jesus 
would make his teachings more intelligible 
to the generation for which the evangelist 
vv^rote, than the repetition of the primitive 
teachings, as Jesus first spoke them, which, 
in your opinion, would be most perfectly 
the word of Christ, the primitive phrase 
or the modification that made the primi- 
tive phrase intelligible? In this connec- 
tion it is well to recall the fact that Paul, 
in his epistles, attempting to convey the 
message of Christ to the churches, felt 
impelled literally to quote but a single 
passage from the words of Jesus (1 Cor. 
11. 24, 25). 

The fourth Gospel contains the portions 
of Scripture to which men invariably turn 
in times of distress and great sorrow. Its 
pages are black with use. What does this 
enormous religious value — certainly as 
great as that of any of the other three 
Gospels — tend to show as to the essential 
conformity of the Gospel to the mind of 
God? 



133 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX 



Questions on the Problem of Author- 
ship AND Date 

The Authorship of the Gospel 

I. Internal Evidence. 

1. Indirect Evidence. 

What evidence can you find in the character 
and contents of the Gospel itself to indicate 
that the writer was 

(1) A Jew? 

(2) A Jew of Palestine? 

(3) An eyewitness? 

(4) An apostle? 

(5) St. John? 

2. Direct Evidence. 

What direct statements of the Gospel pro- 
claim it to have been written by an eyewitness, 
and one of the inner circle of disciples? 

It is advisable for the student to examine 
the internal evidence for himseK, and then 
later to compare his independent results with 
the findings of the commentaries. 

The classic argument in favor of the Johan- 
nine authorship, which is outlined in the above 
questions, is that of Westcott in the Introduc- 
tion to his Bible Commentary; but it is found 
137 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



in substance in most of the commentaries to 
which, the student will have access, such as 
McClymont, The New Century Bible; Plum- 
mer, The Cambridge Bible; Riggs, The Mes- 
sages of Jesus according to the Gospel of John; 
the article "John'' in the larger Hastings's Bible 
Dictionary. It is fully, clearly, and freshly put 
by Strachan, article "John, the Gospel of," in 
Hastings's Dictionary of Christ and the 
Gospels. 

Some writers who maintain that the fourth 
Gospel is the work of an eyewitness, and one 
of the inner circle of disciples, identify the dis- 
ciple whom Jesus loved, not with John, the son 
of Zebedee, but with a young man, a resident 
of Jerusalem and perhaps a priest. This view, 
maintaining as it does that the Gospel is the 
work of one who was personally in touch with 
Jesus, does not greatly differ in its practical 
outcome from the view that maintains the 
Johannine authorship. The student will find 
most of the biblical evidence in favor of it in 
Chapters 13-21, and also in Mark 14. 51-52, 
which suggests that a young man had been 
present in the upper room who was not one of 
the twelve. See Sanday's Criticism of the 
Fourth Gospel, p. 99-108 (New York, Scrib- 
ners), and Garvie, The Inner Life of Jesus, 
introduction, p. 29. Note criticism of this 
138 



APPENDIX 



view in article ''John, the Gospel of," in Has- 
tings's D ctionary of Christ and the Gospels, 
p. 879. 

II. External Evidence. 

Find from the introductions in the com- 
mentaries, the general New Testament in- 
troductions, and the Bible dictionaries what 
information you can concerning the evidence 
which historical tradition gives in favor of the 
Johannine authorship of the fourth Gospel. 
The most complete statement of the external 
evidence for the Johannine authorship is found 
perhaps in Drummond's Character and Au- 
thorship of the Fourth Gospel (London, Wil- 
liams and Norgate). 

Arguments Against the Authorship of the 
Gospel by One of the Inner Circle 

1. In addition to the presumptions against 
the historicity of John's Gospel suggested by 
the previous section of this book, entitled "The 
Differences Between John and the Synoptics," 
p. 119, what arguments can you find against 
the view that the Gospel was written by one 
who had a first-hand knowledge of the life of 
Jesus, and who took no liberties with his 
teachings save those which were necessary to 
139 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



make his Gospel intelligible and effective with 
a succeeding generation? 

2. What are some of the various theories of 
the authorship of the Gospel put forth by 
those who deny its composition by one who 
was in immediate touch with Jesus? See 
Scott, The Fourth Gospel (New York, Scrib- 
ner's Sons); Moffatt, Introduction to the Lit- 
erature of the New Testament (New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons); Smiedel, The En- 
cyclopaedia Biblia, article '*John, Son of Zebe- 
dee." 

Date and Place of Writing 

1. Note the evidence for a late date based 

(1) on the amount of the ethical teachings of 
Jesus, as found in the Synoptics, which John 
presupposes and assumes that his readers know; 

(2) on the assumption which he makes that 
the Christian Church has at last passed over 
from the admixture of Jewish legalism, which 
characterized its earlier stages, to the view 
that Christianity consists solely in faith which 
worketh by love; (3) on the omission in re- 
cording Christ's predictions of the future of 
important prophecies that had already been 
fulfilled; (4) on the use of a name for the Sea 
of Galilee (Chap. 6) which did not obtain cur- 
rency till the end of the first century; (5) and 

140 



APPENDIX 



on the undoubted fact that the writer trans- 
lates the primitive form of Jesus's teachings 
into phrases that rendered them inteUigible 
and effective for a succeeding generation. 

(These outhnes of the argument, as in other 
cases, are simply meant to be suggestive guides 
to the student, and should not at all be made 
trammels in his discussion of a problem that 
has many aspects. In this part of his study 
the student should make the freest and most 
independent use of all accessible Uterature on 
the subject, and should outline his results after 
his own fashion.) 

2. What evidence from the tradition of the 
church fathers do we have that the Gospel was 
written not earher than the end of the first 
century? 

3. What is the evidence from the church 
fathers as to the place of the writing of the 
fourth Gospel 

4. Do you find in the Prologue (1. 1-18) any 
term that corroborates the tradition of the 
church that the Gospel was written for an 
audience familiar with Greek philosophy? 

5. Do you find any places in the Gospel 
where the writer explains Jewish geography 
and Jewish customs in such a way as to prove 
that it was written for people not familiar with 
Palestine and with Jewish customs? 

141 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



Conditions Surrounding the Writer and 
THE Readers 

The material is so scant that we are com- 
pelled to content ourselves with a somewhat 
vague knowledge of the conditions surrounding 
the writer of the fourth Gospel. We can, how- 
ever, infer these conditions by observing the 
truth which the writer felt it necessary to 
stress, and by noting the errors which the 
Johannine epistles attack. 

The messages to the seven churches in the Apoca- 
lypse (Chapters 1-3) also furnish light on the condi- 
tions in Ephesus and the surrounding cities in the latter 
part of the first century. 

1. After a reading of the First Epistle of 
John, from what two main errors with regard 
to Christ's Hfe and teachings would you judge 
that John was endeavoring to free the church? 
See Law's great commentary on the Johannine 
epistles, entitled The Tests of Life (New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons). See also Law's ar- 
ticle ''John, the Epistles of," in the Interna- 
tional Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. 

2. It is plain that John's Gospel does not 
make a polemic attack on these errors, but, as 
Westcott suggests, seeks to place in proper 
relations with the whole of reality the truths 
which the errorists had isolated and misused. 
Nevertheless, it is likely that the writer em- 

142 



APPENDIX 



phasized, or put in the foreground, certain 
teachings of Jesus which he might not have 
emphasized had not these errors been infesting 
the church at the time of the writing of the 
Gospel. Can you find in the Gospel any 
places where the emphasis is laid on truth 
which the Johannine epistles and the messages 
to the seven churches of Asia (Rev. 1-8) 
plainly prove to have been denied or perverted 
toward the end of the first century? 

3. The destruction of Jerusalem had won- 
derfully fuUfiUed the predictions which Jesus 
uttered in such passages as Mark 13, Matthew 
24, and Luke 21. And yet Jesus had not come 
in just the manner that they had expected. 
This situation presented a new problem to the 
church. They were both reassured and puz- 
zled. It was left to the Christian leaders to 
adjust the church to the new situation, and 
find their way to that outlook on the future to 
which the leading of the Spirit and the words 
of Jesus pointed. Read the teachings of Jesus 
about the future in John 14-16, and compare 
them with those in the first three Gospels 
(Matthew 24, for instance) to note the indica- 
tion that John was reporting the mind of 
Christ to people whose problem was distinctly 
different from that of the Jews before the 
destruction of Jerusalem. 



143 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

4. The Christian Church at the time of the 
writing of the Gospel, as Westcott points out, 
had been firmly planted upon PauFs principle 
of liberty. Christians were not to be bound 
down by hard-and-fast rules. They were, 
rather, to believe in Christ as the one who 
gave himseK for them, and to express their 
gratitude and love and loyalty in such purity 
of life, and in such deeds of mercy toward 
their fellow men as they were inspired to by 
the Holy Spirit which was within them. This 
freedom, while it tended to spontaneity and 
life in the church, necessarily gave occasion for 
many wild eccentricities and even immoral per- 
versions of the doctrine of grace. Hence it 
became necessary sternly to insist on the moral 
foundations. (Compare the strong emphasis 
upon elemental morality in the First Epistle of 
John.) Where in the upper room discourses 
(John 13-16) does Jesus repeatedly insist that 
keeping the commandments is the condition for 
all high experiences of communion with God.^ 

5. Inevitably as men thought upon the 
Christian revelation, there would develop in 
their minds a theory of religion, and there 
would be a tendency to come to terms with 
the prevailing philosophy, just as to-day reU- 
gious writers seem to feel it necessary to 
decide upon the relation of Christ's teaching 

144 



APPENDIX 



to the doctrine of evolution, or to the economic 
theories of the sociaUsts. What term does 
John use in the Prologue (1. 1-18) which shows 
some disposition to link up the Gospel with 
the philosophical terminology of the day? 

6. With this development of Christianity 
into a philosophy would come the inevitable 
tendency to make it nothing but a philosophy, 
a mere set of opinions which were supposed to 
give a man special insight and power. Where 
have we in the 14th and 15th chapters of John, 
for instance, the demand that discipleship be 
expressed in practical living, on peril of for- 
feiture of spiritual privileges? 

7. Philosophy would tend to make men ex- 
press Christianity in general principles. These 
dry and abstract principles would tend to 
become a substitute for the living Christ. 
Where have we repeated indications in John's 
Gospel that the writer desires to bring out in 
special prominence those parts of Jesus's teach- 
ings that represented Christ himself as the 
personal source of wisdom and life and power? 

8. The great oiBSicial Roman persecutions 
against Christianity which took their rise near 
the end of the first century made the constant 
use of the phrase "the kingdom of God" which 
was so prominent in the early Christian teach- 
ings, especially dangerous. The ever-watchful 

145 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



and jealous Roman power would at once infer 
that people who were talking about founding 
a new kingdom meant to raise a rebellion 
against Rome. Compare the peculiar danger 
attendant upon the use of certain very inno- 
cent phrases during the great World War. 
Note how John refers to the kingdom of God 
but twice (Chapter 3 and Chapter 18). What 
explanations concerning the kingdom does he 
in both cases give that would effectually dispel 
suspicion? 



In all his discussion of the critical problems 
of the fourth Gospel the student is urged, 
while giving the fullest and fairest considera- 
tion to those who take the negative positions, 
constantly to keep the text of the Gospel be- 
fore him, and constantly to give it the fullest 
opportunity to make its direct impression upon 
his mind. This impression is a scientific fact 
which must be dealt with, and must be ex- 
perienced in order to be dealt with. As a 
recent somewhat radical writer has said: "No 
explanation of the fourth Gospel is scientific 
which does not suflSciently account for its 
enormous and increasing spiritual impression 
upon the race. Those who would make it a 
146 



APPENDIX 



pure work of imagination of the second century- 
have overpowering difficulties to confront." 

Again, the student is warned against the 
false alternatives which are constantly pre- 
sented by some who discuss this Gospel. The 
alternative is not the most conservative view 
of the authorship and nature of the Gospel, on 
the one hand, or the radical position that it is 
a pure work of the imagination by a second- 
century writer, on the other. It may have 
originated in much the same manner that lit- 
erature is now developed on the foreign field. 
Foreign missionaries who are familiar with the 
processes by which missionary leaders write 
books for nations whose thought habits are 
different from their own are often inclined to 
allow for no small element of cooperation 
among John's Greek disciples in arriving at 
the final form of the book. 

It should also be remembered that this Gos- 
pel greatly emphasizes the promise of the 
guidance of the Spirit in meeting the problems 
that are to come. We can easily believe that 
John was hke Paul (Gal. 1. 1-17) in beHeving 
that the conclusions to which the Holy Spirit, 
through reflection and Divine Providence, had 
brought him, were as certainly the direct rev- 
elations of Christ as though they had been 
spoken by Jesus in the flesh. Compare the 



147 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 



absolute conviction of the writer of the Apoca- 
lypse that his messages to the seven churches 
were a real word of Jesus. 

It is likely that the fourth Gospel is the most 
daring illustration of the freedom of the Spirit 
which we have in the New Testament. John 
takes seriously the words of Jesus about his 
living presence with the church. And in op- 
posing the undoubtedly hurtful, capricious, and 
negative attitude which many moderns take 
toward this great record, we should beware of 
a mechanical traditionalism like that of the 
scribes and Pharisees, and, rather, should imi- 
tate in our discussion of the problems the 
Gospel writer's broadmindedness, spirituality, 
and vivid sense of that living power of Christ 
which made it seem safe for him, in order to 
preserve the inner spirit of the words of Jesus, 
freely to adapt their outward form to meet the 
changing conditions and necessities of the 
times. 

Subjects for Essays 

A Full Exegetical Discussion of Any One of 
the Main Incidents of the Gospel, with the 
Accompanying Discourse. 

The Teachings of John Concerning the Nature 
and Person of Christ. (On all matters re- 
lating to the theology of John the book of 
148 



APPENDIX 



Prof. G. B. Stevens, "The Johannine The- 
ology'' (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons), 
is of much value.) 

The Teachings Concerning the Holy Spirit in 
the Fourth Gospel. 

The Way of Salvation as Set Forth in the 
Fourth Gospel, Including a Discussion of 
the Meanings Assigned by John to the 
Word "Believe." 

John's Conception of Christ's Deity, as Com- 
pared with that of Paul. Are they har- 
monious, or divergent? 

The Outlook on the Future Contained in the 
Upper Room Discourses (13-17) as Con- 
trasted with that in the Apocalyptic Sections 
of the Earlier Gospels (Matthew M; Mark 
13; Luke 21). 

The Plan, Purpose, and Literary Peculiarities 
of the Fourth Gospel. 

The Various Witnesses to Christ Spoken of in 
the Fourth Gospel, with Special Emphasis 
on Chapter 5. 

The Differences between the Fourth Gospel 
and the Synoptics, in Their Chronology of 
the Life of Christ, the Scene and Location 
of the Incidents Recorded, the Literary Style 
of the Story, and the Emphasis of the Teach- 
ing. 

149 



A STUDY OF JOHN'S GOSPEL 

Is the Johannine Conception of the Deity of 
Christ Essentially Different from that of the 
Synoptics? After becoming familiar with the 
main characterizations of Christ in the fourth 
Gospel, the student should carefully go over 
one of the Synoptic Gospels from beginning 
to end, and note all the characterizations of 
Christ which are either expressed or implied. 
It will be found a most interesting and re- 
warding task. 

The Main Ideas of the Fourth Gospel as com- 
pared with those of the Johannine Epistles. 



150 



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